


I'm Sorry, Join The What?

by My_Marvel_Musings



Category: Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), X-Men - All Media Types
Genre: Explicit Language, F/M, Fluff, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-20
Updated: 2018-10-02
Packaged: 2019-07-14 21:00:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 13
Words: 26,954
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16048460
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/My_Marvel_Musings/pseuds/My_Marvel_Musings
Summary: Reader is asked to join the Avengers' Initiative. She’s hesitant at first, until she meets a certain genius billionaire and a government agent. Now she needs to choose between the life she has and the one that could be.





	1. Doesn't Play Well With Others

**Author's Note:**

> Yeah, you know this song and dance. I was feeling stagnant with my series so I wanted to do this side work to give me a break. Once again no idea who reader will end up with, if with anyone by the time I'm done.
> 
> BTW, Phil Coulson will be mentioned in this work, but as I have never seen an episode of Agents of SHIELD, it will mostly be based off his movie appearances. Like, I know he gets brought back to life, and that is the extend of my knowledge on the "new" Coulson.
> 
> This is what happens when you have too much time on your hands at work.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Reader is approached about using her abilities for good.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If there is anything I need to know about the SHIELD characters I am using, please let me know!

"Why do people feel that 7pm at night - on a freaking Friday! - is the perfect time to sell me their crap door-to-door?" You pulled yourself off the sofa and went to the front door, not thrilled to have to chase some solicitor off your doorstep as you were not expecting anyone to visit that night.

Upon opening the door, you were greeted by a man dressed in a black suit and sunglasses with short dark hair. Your first thought was this man was a fool to wear that in Arizona in July, 7pm or not it was still 105F outside. Your next thought was he was either with the Men in Black or the Mormon Church nearby. Mostly likely option number two. You had personally nothing against them, you just didn't want to be sold anything at your door, religion included. Except Girl Scout cookies, but you'd have to be a soulless monster to turn down those cookies.

"Hey man, I appreciate what you have/want to do and all and admire your devotion, but can you guys just skip my house from now until the end of time? I'm totally happy being Wiccan. Thanks. Have a good day and stay inside if possible. This heat is a bitch." You began to close the door on the guy before he even had a chance to start his spiel. The guy put his hand up to stop the door.

"I'm afraid that's not why I'm here, Ms. ______." You stopped once you realized he knew your name and opened the door back up. "We should speak inside."

"Yeeeaaaaahhhhhhh no. I'm not about to open my home to a stranger that just magically knows my last name. I really don't feel like being murdered today. Check back after the holidays so I won't have to pay off my credit card debt." Two more Men in Black showed up behind the first. You instantly locked down inside your body and prepared for a fight, not wanting to use your powers if possible.

"Ms. ______, I really think we should speak inside." 

"Tell you what. You guys quietly leave my property, I'll go back to watching the newest season of Westworld, and we'll forget this whole evening ever happened. Plus you and your men get to leave unharmed. Win-win." You looked the man directly in the eyes the moment he removed his sunglasses so he could see how serious you were. Suddenly, the two agents behind him practically leaped out of the away as a fourth gentleman strolled up the walkway. You mumbled under your breath, "you fuckers are like cockroaches."

The newest one to join the crowd outside your door was taller than the rest, dressed in all black with a black trench coat like he just escaped the Matrix, and sported an eye patch. He looked like he had fought many battles in his life and had no intention of stopping anytime soon. The epitome of tall, dark, and dangerous. This can't be good. 

"Ms. ______. I'm Director Nick Fury. I see you've met Agent Coulson." His one eye was sharply focused on your face.

"Can't say that I did seeing as I never introduced myself or had him introduce himself. Frankly as far as I'm concerned, none of you are currently here so have a good night!" You went to close the door again. 

He stopped the door better than his agent had and pushed it open. "You're right. On the record, we're not here. But technically, neither are you. Isn't that about right?"

You narrowed your eyes at him, both hands going to your side and opening up in case you needed to use force to get these guys off the porch. "I have no idea what you're talking about, but as I told your agent over there, leave and you guys can remain unharmed."

Fury remained calm in the wake of your clearly unconcealed threat. "There's no need for all the dramatics. We're merely here to offer you a job of some sorts. A chance to use those powers for good."

"I already have a job and I have no idea as to what powers you are referring to." Yup, gonna have to use force on these idiots.

"Listen, it's too fucking hot to be having this conversation in the doorway like this-"

"I agree. So head back to your car and where ever it is you came from and we'll both go back to having a better evening." Dark clouds began to form outside very slowly. To anyone living here it would look like monsoon clouds. But to you, you were getting ready in case you had to scare these agents off your lawn.

"Ms. _____, there's no need for the thunderstorm. It won't make us leave." Your eyes snapped back to Fury, unable to hide your surprise. "Yes, we know about you. That's why we're here. We from Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement & Logistic Division."

You just blinked at him. "Do I really need to state the obvious?"

He actually laughed at that. "Not at all. We usually go by SHIELD. Now, are we coming in or are we coming in?"

You gave a deep sigh, instantly recognizing the name once it wasn’t spelled out. "Swear to fuck I just saw my brain I rolled my eyes so hard. Let's get this stupidity out of the way so you can leave and I can continue on with my evening."

You left the entry way and walked into the kitchen to gather around the table. You didn't even bother to offer them anything, just placed a few glasses of water on the table silently. The two spare agents took them happily. Agent Coulson and Fury took theirs as well, though less eagerly as their counter parts. You brought your wine over from the living room and sat so you were directly across Fury.

"Alright, let's get this over with. What the actual fuck do you all want?" You took a sip of the wine and maintained eye contact with the Director.

"Well _____, as I mentioned we're here to offer you a job."

"And as I mentioned, I already have one. Thanks. By the way, just want you all to know it's hella creepy to show up to someone's home, UNINVITED, and pretty much announce you know their names and possible abilities without ever meeting said person before. So thanks for the extra dose of paranoia I now have, but I think we're done here."

"You don't even know what the job is yet."

"It's pretty fucking obvious. You stated you're from SHIELD, you creepily know my name and maybe know what I can do, and you're harder to get rid of than gum on a shoe. So let's just cut to the fucking chase: I'm not joining your band of merry men. Thanks and have a good evening." You finished the wine in your glass and waited for them to get up and leave. Ever since the Avengers made themselves known 10ish years ago, you knew it was only a matter of time before the recruiters would focus their attention on you. You can try to stay stealth all you want, but eventually you trip.

Agent Coulson spoke up then. "Ms. ______, it would be in your best interest to join our team."

"Not if you enjoy living. I let you in and I listened so now you get to leave."

"But you didn't listen, you just assumed." The agent remained calm, giving you an overwhelming desire to pick him up by the scruff of his neck and hurl him out the door.

"Then please enlighten me if you're not here about the Avengers." Everyone became quiet. "That's what I thought. See, Agent Coulson. It's not so much assuming as just waiting for the proverbial shoe to drop. Ever since you guys formed that group, I knew it was only a matter of time before you caught wind of mutants and started asking any of the ones that weren't associated with the X-Men to join you guys. Spoiler alert: we're not ready made weapons. We don't want to be used and we're not like Captain Cataracts just eager to jump to the call of duty."

Fury cracked a smile at the dismissive way you mentioned Captain America. "Look, you know why we're here. The least you can do is come by for a visit."

"If I say I'll think about it, will you leave me the hell alone?"

"For now.

"Guess that's as good as I'm getting. Fine, I'll think about it." Fury dropped his card on the table and just like that, all the agents left your house.


	2. Ignoring the Call

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Reader wants to keep her normal life. SHIELD has other ideas in mind.

You didn’t lie to Fury, not really. You did mean it when you asked if you said you would think about it would they leave. You said the phrase and they left. As far as you were concerned, you were even. You got what they were trying to do; protect the world, look out for the little people, stop alien invasions, yada yada yada. But that wasn't your shtick. You wanted to be one of the few mutants that could have a normal life. Unlike some, your physical appearance hadn't changed beyond your eyes and hair turning silver so it was easy for you to blend into a crowd. You only used your powers in the privacy of your own home so you doubt even SHIELD knew the extent of what you could do as the most you’ve ever used in public was your ability to control the weather.

And it was easy for you to lead a relatively normal life with your ability to control the elements. It wasn't like you could read minds and constantly had other people's thoughts interrupt your own. You could only imagine how old that would quickly get. Your life was pretty bland if the government was really looking at you. You had a modest two bedroom home in Gilbert, your own car, a cute little all white, pain-in-the-ass Chihuahua named Zero (because tiny white dogs should either be named after ghosts or Falcor), and your own business: a food truck that sold street tacos. You had a few close friends, family nearby, an occasional date (it's hard to find time when you work with food), and no desire to change any of it. You weren’t about to let SHIELD fuck all that up.

But it wasn't that easy. You figured radio silence would be an answer enough, but Fury felt otherwise. His agents started turning up like bad pennies. The first was at your gym at 6 am (you hated being up that early, but you needed to get the time out of the way before you went to the food truck to prepare it for the day). You were using the treadmill, trying desperately not to fall asleep on it, when you noticed two people at machines nearby 'not watching you'. It was a bit unsettling so you decided to leave early. Then they showed up at your truck location for the day two days later. You almost didn't catch her at first. She was taller than you, her brunette hair pulled back into a bun, in a business suit, and she clearly was a no-nonsense kind of a person as she approached your truck to order food. Normally this wouldn't be a tip off for you..... if your truck was located downtown by the court house. In the middle of college town, she stuck out like a sore thumb. You personally handed her the plate of food, giving her a significant look as you did. She just merely raised her eyebrow at you, took the plate, and walked off. Then you had one sit a little too close to as you sat at your favorite bar the following evening. You had to give it to them, at least they ditched their suits (minus taco truck girl), and so it wasn't so obvious right away.

The final straw was when they returned to your home, unannounced of course. You had just finished a fun, relaxing evening with friends. You were outside back with your dog running nuts as you played games and drank, catching up on each other's lives. You chose to omit the recent run in with the government as you felt they would eventually get bored with stalking you and leave. After everyone left, you went back outside with a rum and coke to just stretch out and relax on the porch swing. Zero decided to go nuts at the back gate, not unusual as some of the neighbors let their cats roam free. It wasn't until you realize someone was standing by the swing that you opened your eyes.

"Agent Coulson, what an unpleasant surprise. I'd invite you to sit, but you won't be staying long."

He, of course, pulled up a chair and sat anyway. "We haven't heard from you since they day we met. We were beginning to worry."

"Is that why you had people stalk me? You know, most of the time radio silence constitutes as an answer."

"Most of the time, radio silence is considered rude." It was starting to amaze you how calm and collected he could remain no matter what you threw at him. You could see he was probably a good agent and couldn't understand why he was being wasted as a recruiter when he could be off interrogating terrorists or aliens.

"You're absolutely right, and I usually hate using such a tactic. But I was trying to avoid this very scenario, though in retrospect it probably would have been easier to have over the phone as I could have hung up once you guys started begging again." You sat up and took a sip of your drink. "Look, I appreciate the offer-"

"Do you really?" He had a small smirk on his face and you narrowed your eyes. Alright, you may not like him but you were starting to respect him.

"No, not really. But isn't that the polite way to start a rejection? I get why you guys do what you do, but that's not for me. So thanks, but no thanks. Sorry you guys had to bother yourselves with a trip out to America's oven. Hopefully SHIELD makes it worth it." You finished your drink and started to go inside.

He clearly didn't think you were done with this conversation and followed you. Yup, definitely don't like these guys. "Ms. ______, we really believe you should reconsider."

"I have no doubt that you do." You placed your glass by the rum bottle then turned to face the intruder. "Agent Coulson, have you ever met a mutant before? I'm not talking about one of those soldiers in a bottle or the enhanced folks. No, they chose to become that. No, I'm talking about an actual, honest-to-God, born and raised mutant. The ones that are born this way whether they want their abilities or not. The ones that can't be around other people, not even touch them for fear of hurting or killing them on accident. Did you know that some of us can't hide? Not really. There is a brilliant doctor that's not taken as seriously as he should be because he's covered head-to-toe in blue fur. Did you know we came in levels? Some are simple: the ability to heal, super strength, enhanced senses. Some more advanced: mind reading and telekinesis. And some....well, they are the ones that have been mistaken for gods throughout the years. Abilities to control the elements, control the weather, do anything that comes to their minds. And most of us, we just want a simple life. We didn't choose this, didn't choose these 'gifts'. We just want a normal life."

"And the ones that don't want that?" 

"Those are the ones the X-Men deal with. That's their job, not mine." You walked over to the front door, clearly indicating you were done.

The agent followed and got a little too close for comfort. Immediately you were on defensive mode again. "We appreciate your honesty-"

"Do you really?" You smirked back.

He actually laughed, which threw you off considering he didn't seem like the kind to show emotions on a mission. "But I don't believe you think this will be the last you hear from us."

"Fabulous. As long as your agents aren't creepy stalkers about it and more inconspicuous than the one who came by in our college town, I'll be able to ignore you guys better."

"Yes, Agent Hill did mention you seemed to know who she was."

"Well, rather who she worked for."

He finally stepped back, clearly done making his point. "Director Fury will be by soon to talk to you more."

"Hopefully not tonight. I plan to drink a little more before going to bed."

"No, don't worry. This will be the last late night visit."

"Hallelujah. Now if I could just get you guys to stop visiting all together I would be all set."

"I'm afraid that's not possible yet."

"Hooray. Goodnight, Agent Coulson." And you closed the door before he could respond, though you heard his smart ass 'goodnight' through the door. 

The next day you decided to take a break from your truck. You texted your crew saying if they wanted to work, they knew where everything was. If not, they would still get paid. Maybe if you stayed inside one day, you could get a break from these annoying agents.

Around midday your dreams were crushed. Nick Fury was at the door just like Agent Coulson promised. He walked right through the door and right past me the moment I cracked it open. "Good day, Ms. ______. I take it you knew I was coming by."

"Yeah, Secret Agent Man did inform me, just not the when. Listen, this is getting damn old and hella fast. Can we just cut straight to the part where you accept my no and run back to DC, New York, where ever y'all are stationed?"

"Actually, I was hoping we'd skip to the part where you just agreed to come visit the team. See if it's a possible fit for you."

You closed your eyes and repressed the urge to shout at this man, knowing no good would come from it. "Fine. Where shall I meet you guys?"

He just smirked. "Oh don't worry. We'll come pick you up. Be ready in two days."

"Hooray." You called out as he left the house.


	3. The Avengers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Reader visits the Avengers on one of the Helicarrier.

“So you’re the mutant?” A gentleman about your height came by two days later as promised by Fury. His hair was cut short and he sported a beard. “I’m Sam Wilson, also known as Falcon.”

You slightly frowned at his introduction. “Yeah, I’m the mutant. But call me _____. You’re an agent?”

”Avenger. I was recruited by Captain America. I’ll be your pilot.”

”Sweet. If I saw one more SHIELD agent I was gonna hurl them into the Grand Canyon.”

Sam chuckled at the image. “Hate to break it to you, but Agent Maria Hill will be on the jet also. Word has it you two already met.”

”Not really. I just recognized her as one of your narks when she stopped by my truck.”

”Where’s the puppy?” You looked at him in confusion. “Coulson said you had a dog. Isn’t he coming, also?”

”No, why would I bring him? I have no idea where I’m heading to. He’s at a friend’s house until I get back.” You grabbed your bag and followed him out the front door. You expected to see a car to take you wherever, but instead a jet was parked in the school parking lot across the street.

”Aw man. Would have love to have met the little guy. I guess it’ll have to wait until later.” He walked onto the jet and pointed to a woman sitting off to the side. “That’s Agent Hill. Maria, ______. ______, Maria.”

You just nodded your head in her direction. This time she was wearing an outfit no doubt meant for agents in the field. No less conspicuous than before. “So where are we heading to?”

”Well there isn’t really a location, per say. We’re heading to one of the Helicarriers. You can’t see the compound until you’ve passed your tests.”

Needless to say, that caught your attention. “Tests? What are you talking about?”

”Coulson didn’t mention them? I get Fury not, he’s always so busy.” Sam climbed into the pilot seat and started the jet. You grabbed the nearest empty seat and dumped your bag next to you. “Every new recruit has to pass a few tests before they can officially be called an Avenger: spar with Nat or Clint, shooting practice, tests on major laws we need to know, a review of the Accords-“

You stopped him before he could continue. “New recruit? I’m not a recruit. Fury said I was coming by to meet the team. That is literally all. I’ve already told him AND Coulson I’m not joining your group. And I only agreed to this to get them to leave me the fuck alone.”

And that caught Sam’s attention. “Wait, what?” He looked back at Maria. “Did you know that?”

Maria looked just as surprised as Sam. “No. The way Coulson talked about it, he practically had you eager to sign the recruitment forms. It’s not like Phil to lie.”

”Sorry to say, but Secret Agent Man did indeed lie. Or probably figured I’d want to sign when this weekend was over and felt no need to elaborate.”

Sam and Maria exchanged another look. “Uh, this isn’t meant to be a weekend thing. You were gonna take your tests, no doubt pass, and we’d go straight to the compound. That’s why I asked about your dog.”

”Oh look, I’m already done with you guys and we haven’t even reached your floating fort. Fat chance I will ever sign those papers now.” You hung your head and prayed this weekend would pass quickly. You wouldn’t need them to take you back; your mutation would make it easy enough for you to get home on your own. 

In a few short, awkward hours you reached the Helicarrier and landed a few feet from some fighter jets that were already on deck. Sam and Maria lead you out the back where Fury and Coulson were already waiting. You didn't even bother to hide your irritation at the men.

"Director Fury. Agent Coulson. ____ here to meet the team. I suggest you guys wear a cup during the next two days as she knows you guys lied to me and Maria." Sam nodded at the two men and he and Maria went inside the Helicarrier. 

You just stared at the men for a minute before you headed to the Helicarrier door. Your weekend was shot to hell over this lie. You could not get through this fast enough. Both men immediately caught up to you, with Coulson holding the door open. 

"Let's get this over with." You spun around to face both of them while in the doorway. "You-" you pointed at Coulson, "lied to your colleagues about why I was here. And you-" you now pointed at Fury, "no doubt knew and didn't care. How the fuck are you supposed to convince me to join your team if this is the kind of nonsense going around?! I will stay because I promised I would be here and  _I_ don't lie when I promise. And in two days you can either have Sam take me back or I get back on my own, which won't be a problem."

Spinning back around, you marched down the hallway until you came across a large opening with a round table. All around sat some of the Avengers: Steve Rogers, Tony Stark, Clint Barton, Natasha Romanov, Bruce Banner, and James Rhodes. The rest were no doubt at the compound awaiting the new recruit that would never show up. You walked briskly into the room with the two agents quickly at your heels. Tony was the first one to scramble to his feet. He could tell the two agents were uncomfortable in your presence, but chose to ignore it at this time.

"Hi, I'm Tony Stark. But of course you knew that." He smirk as he shook my hand. As much as you wanted to punch him, you couldn't help but notice how much cuter he was in person. "You must be the new girl. Please don't hurt me.....too much."

You smirked back at him. "Trust me, you wouldn't like it if I hurt you....on any level. I'm _____ and I'm not the new girl."

Confusion quickly crossed the table. Bruce spoke up first, "I thought you said we were getting a new member today?"

"I'm sure you were told that. But Secret Agent Man and One-Eye Jack over here have been spreading a fallacy. I am only here to meet the team, then I get to go back to my chill life back in the Valley of the Eternal Heat Wave." You walked around the table shaking each Avenger's hand along the way. Once you had met everyone, you stood once again by Tony and looked to the two agents waiting.

Fury finally decided to speak up. "Ms. _____, we didn't lie to anyone. The whole point of this weekend was for you to meet the team so you would then want to join us. You'll spend the next 48 hours getting to know them, training if you want, and seeing what it is we do. And if you really don't want to sign, then you can head back."

"And you'll finally leave me alone."

"To the extent that we can." You pursed your lips at that and he elaborated. "Ms. _____, you're a very powerful mutant. Yes, we don't know everything you can do, but we have a pretty good idea. Which is why we need you on our team. If you choose no, then we'll let you go back to your life, but SHIELD will always be keeping track."

"Believe him on that." Bruce mumbled.

"You know, I dream of the day where mutants aren't regarded different from everyone else. I would rather you guys disappeared for good. I'm in my mid 30's for crying out loud. If I wanted to be a super villain, I sure as hell would have done it by now." Tony laughed at that. "Can I at least be shown my prison cell for the next two days?"

"Right this way, Ms. _____." You followed Agent Coulson back down the hall. After a few turns, you stopped in front of a door that opened to a very barren bedroom. "Here's your cell."

You walked in and dropped your bag on the bed. "You know, as much as you and Fury annoy the hell out of me, I will admit that I do respect you. You certainly aren't taking any of my shit."

"Practice from babysitting Stark when he first joined." He remained in the doorway. 

"I'm amazed you didn't turn to heavy drinking from that." You both laughed. "Thank you, Coulson, for showing me my prison cell."

"You can call me Phil and I'll show you around so you can only get semi lost."

"I'm not ready to be first name basis with anyone, but thank you. Lead on MacDuff." You began to walk down the hall once more, passing a lab where Bruce and Tony now were, a few briefing rooms, a couple different training rooms, and finally a cafeteria. The whole time Coulson asked questions about your life back in Arizona and you only gave the basics: friends, family, job.

"We already know those things about you. You can trust us, you know."

You walked out a door and back onto the landing pad so you could get some fresh air. "You say that, but I don't. You guys haven't really given me a reason to. All you have done is hound my ass into being here. Why should I tell you secrets about me when I literally don't know any of you?"

He nodded at this and looked down at his feet, clearly debating with himself. "If I tell you a secret will you tell me one?"

You cocked an eyebrow at this. "I guess. Tell you what, depending on the type of secret, I'll tell one on the same level."

He nodded again and looked at you. "I was killed by Loki and then brought back to life using a controversial piece of equipment."

Your eyes went wide at this. "Holy hell! They have the ability to do that?! Of all the things the government should have access to-"

Coulson cleared his throat and looked at you pointedly.

"Right, right. Sorry, that's a lot to take in." You shook your head to get the image out. "Fuck. Ok, I did promise. But this is so going to bite me in the ass. I can control the weather, animals, the elements, super strength/speed, and I can fly."

You couldn't look at him as you spoke. He placed a hand on your shoulder so you would look at him. "Thank you."

Frowning, you shifted uncomfortably. "Yeah, well I have a feeling I just shot myself in the foot. But you, are you.....like, how do you bounce back from something like that?"

"It wasn't easy. In fact, Fury and I fought over it once it was done. I've adjusted since, but it was a hard road."

"Thank you for trusting me to tell me that. I don't know if I could trust anyone with that knowledge." You shook your head again. "Fuck man. I feel like I need a drink for you. That's.....that's really unsettling that they have that technology. I feel like that's how the zombie apocalypse is going to start."

He chuckled at that. "So you're more weirded out over the technology existing rather than the fact you are talking to a former dead man."

You pointed at yourself. "Mutant. I've seen weirder than a man brought back from the dead."

You walked back inside the Helicarrier and down the hall to the place where you first met the Avengers. Steve and Sam were now sitting at the table talking. They both looked up as you walked in. Sam spoke up. "Looks like you made a friend, ____."

"Not so much a friend as I'm less annoyed with him than when they all showed up for the first time a few weeks ago. Who would ever be friends with a mutant?" You sat down next to Steve and Coulson sat across from you.

"You would catch me dead before being friends with a mutant." You groaned at his lame joke. 

"They already have."

"Right. Still, I stand by what I say."

Tony came walking in just then and slid into the seat next to you. "So what are these amazing powers of yours? Imitating Aphrodite?"

You rolled your eyes. "Stark, you are gonna have to try harder than that if you want in my pants. Like, treating me like a human and not a sex doll."

Steve and Sam busted out laughing at this and Tony only smirked. "Don't worry, that was only my warm up. You'll grow to love me"

"Sure. Once my mutation causes me to sprout fairy wings."

"I could build you some."

"I'm sure you could." You leaned into his space to tease him. He followed your lead only for you to immediately move back and spin to face Steve. 

"You are a tease. I'm going to love this weekend."

"At least one of us will." You smirked over your shoulder.


	4. Wanna Play a Game?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Reader is bored while on the Helicarrier so she challenges a few Avengers to a game, but they get interrupted.

The first night aboard the Helicarrier was really boring at best. You spent some time with each Avenger alone getting to know them and vice versa and then eating with them as a group in the cafeteria. You almost immediately bonded with Nat and Clint, as the two were best friends and seemed to be joined at the hip. A few of your jokes at Clint’s expense had Nat rolling with laughter and he did his best to repay the favor.

You tried to spend as much time talking to each member the same amount, getting a little of their background, who asked them to join, why they did join, and little things about themselves like what they liked. Little by little you found out why each person was part of the team, what skills or talents they personally brought. And when you found out that three of them could fly, well how could you let an opportunity like that just pass you by?

So shortly after breakfast the day following your arrival, you sought out Stark, Sam, and Rhodey while they all sat around a briefing table with Steve just screwing around. “Hey boys. You guys have your stuff to fly, right?”

They looked at each other before looking at you. Sam spoke up, “yeah. Why?”

“Well honestly it’s kinda boring here so I wanted to know if you three wanted to play a game with me.”

“What kind of a game?” Rhodey asked.

“Tag.”

Now all three were confused. Tony questioned you this time. “Why do we need to be able to fly to play tag?”

A big smile broke over your face. “Because we’re gonna play outside, duh!”

This instantly got all of their attention, and all spoke up at once.

“Oh my God that’s brilliant!” Stated Sam.

“Why didn’t I think to do that?!” Questioned Tony.

“Can you even play?” Wondered Rhodey.

“Of course! I wouldn’t suggest it if I couldn’t! Let’s go!”

The boys scattered to get their equipment and communicators so you would know who was 'it' when in the air while you changed before meeting them outside. Along the way you told Nat and Clint what was going on. Soon a crowd was outside by the time the boys joined you. As you were agreeing on rules (the Helicarrier was Safe and no one can be tagged on there and there were no tag backs), Coulson and Fury stepped outside.

“What the hell is going on out here?”

“Director Fury, you’re just in time!” You smiled widely at him and he narrowed his eye at you. “Don’t give me that look! You’re the one who wanted me to train with your Avengers and it’s been far too long since I’ve been able to stretch my metaphorical wings.”

“This is not what I had in mind when I said train with them.”

“Look, as long as you guys know what we’re doing what’s the worst than can happen? Besides, what better way to train how to go after an enemy in the air? That's probably a skill not practiced enough." You began to walk to the edge of the Helicarrier as you spoke, Fury and Coulson at your heels.

Coulson spoke up now. "And you just decided to take it upon yourself to create an exercise for them?"

"Listen, you guys have me on this floating prison. I might as well have fun until my 48 hours are up. Again, what's the worse that can happen? We're in the middle of the ocean and not in any flight paths. We'll be fine. Ready boys?"

"Yeah!" They all shouted at once.

"Great! Then there's only one thing left......Sam's it!" You tapped Sam's arm and stepped off the Helicarrier. Spinning to face him, you smiled as you dropped.

"Damnit _____!" You heard Sam laugh as he dropped off after you, his wings spreading out. Rhodey and Tony were shortly behind you two and you began your game, spinning, dipping, dropping, and soaring alongside and under the Helicarrier.

Your laughter could only be heard by each other at first due to the communicators, until Nat and Clint took it upon themselves to grab some for the people on deck to help each of you cheat.

"______, Stark is right behind you!"

"Thanks, Nat!" You immediately stopped flying and dropped out of Tony's flight path, which caused him to collide with Sam.

"Sam, Rhodey's around the corner." Clint called out.

"On it!"

"Rhodey, ____'s about to come around your corner." Maria shouted.

"Got her!"

"_____, Sam is trying to soar up the left side by the jets."

"Thanks, Steve!" You immediately changed directions, flying over the top of the Helicarrier on the other side and tagging Sam as he tried to escape.

You were at it for a couple of hours before you were interrupted in an unexpected way. As you rounded a corner to keep out of Stark's reach, a jet flew over just then and you barely rolled out of the way in time.

"What the fuck?! I thought no one flew over here?"

"Normally there isn't," it was Fury's voice that filled the comms. "But we're expecting important visitors today."

"Thanks for the warning," Tony grumbled.

"Guess we better call it, guys." Rhodey announced.

You all groaned, including the people on deck as they seemed to be having just as much fun watching us as you played. One by one, your group touched down on the landing strip as the arriving jet opened up and two men in suits walked out. You were the last one to touch down and landed partially behind Tony, trying to see who was visiting before they could look at you. But when you fly, you wear black gladiator style boots that go over your knees in the front to protect you in case you have a rough landing. Plus you were wearing a black moto jacket to help streamline your form. You weren’t exactly stealth which is why you didn't fly often at home. The two men looked over at you and the taller of the two began to walk over. You tried not to judge when you first meet someone in a suit, tried to remind yourself not everyone in one is out to get mutants. But something about him, the way he held himself and his walk made you instantly distrust him. And needless to say, his first words to you didn't exactly warm the cockles of your heart.

"So, Director Fury. You managed to capture the mutant after all." He looked at you with a sense of smug satisfaction that made you want to immediately rip his head off. Clearly he was no friend to mutants. Hell, he probably wasn't a friend of the Avengers either seeing as they had enhanced humans on the roster.

"No, Secretary Ross. Ms. _____ is just here to visit the team and see if she would like to join us."

"But I'm sure if you ask nicely, she'll be glad to babysit you and your lackey while you stay here." Tony quipped.

"The government can't afford my rates." You said dismissively, not taking your eyes off of who you were assuming to be Secretary of State Thaddeus Ross. He towered over you, his grey hair blowing in the wind of the high altitude.

"What were you guys doing out there?" The second man spoke up. You looked over at him and found him to be about your height with salt-in-pepper hair also blowing around him. His blue eyes captured you for a moment before you could answer.

"Playing tag."

"Playing tag?" His eyebrow shot up. "How?"

You just stared at him for a moment before delivering your answer completely deadpan. "Well, it's pretty easy. One person is labeled 'it' and must chase the others in order to tag them and make them 'it'. And of course you can never tag back the person who just tagged you, so it's always better to play with four or more people."

He was clearly trying to keep the smile off his face as Secretary Ross frowned at you. "No, I mean how were you playing out there?"

"Oh! Well you should have clarified that." You smirked at him and you could see Tony frown at you out of the corner of your eye. "Simple: we were all flying. The two tin men have boosters and Sam the Eagle has his wings."

Sam beamed at the nickname until Tony crushed him. "Don't smile at that. She called you after a Muppet."

You couldn't help but snicker at poor Sam's face and looked back at the two new comers. "And simply put: I fly. It's part of my mutation."

"Interesting. Is that all you can do?" He seemed genuinely curious and not in a 'we need to dissect the subject' look most government agents get when they meet a unique mutant. Out of the corner of your eye, you could see Tony getting more and more irritated. Ever since you called him out yesterday he had still been flirting with you, but in a more subtle way. 

"No, it isn't. But I'm not one to talk about myself. Not like Stark." You smirked in Tony's direction and began to walk to the door that lead inside. The gentleman easily caught up and opened the door for you. "Thank you...."

"Agent Everett Ross of the CIA. And you are?"

"_____ ______. Nice to meet you. Unless you're like the other guy. Then we may as well part now." CIA? First SHIELD now them? Too many government workers for your liking. You may have to cut this weekend short.

"Nice to meet you as well. And I'm not. Secretary Ross is my boss, but he's too rigid at times when trying to work with Avengers. He would prefer a world where they didn't exist."

"Yeah, I picked up that vibe from him. And you?"

"I realized that there are some assignments that even the government can't handle. Like the alien invasion first in New York then Wakanda."

"Yeah, I remember hearing about both. Glad you're not as short sighted as most in your position."

"And how would you know that?"

"I'm a mutant, Agent Ross. We don't exactly get to live that quiet life like most. Why do you think I'm here? SHIELD wouldn't leave me the hell alone." You turned to face him and was stuck in his eyes again.

Before he could respond, Tony came over like a bat out of hell and practically tackled you. "There you are! Cheating in tag and then run off before we can declare a winner."

"Oh please, we all cheated! And there is no winner, only a loser which is the last person to be 'it'. Which if memory serves correctly, is you." You tried to pry yourself out of Tony's death grip around your waist as his head was on your shoulder. "Damnit, Stark! Let go of me! If I use force I'll end up breaking some of your bones."

"No! You need to come with me to the lab. Brucey and I have something to show you." And before you could protest, he was dragging you down the hall towards the lab.

You looked over your shoulder and called back to Agent Ross. "Sorry! It was nice to meet you!"

He gave you a small smile. "You too."


	5. Jealousy, Thy Name is Stark

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony tries to get Reader to agree to a date once the weekend is over but Reader ends up finding herself alone with Everett. Meanwhile, Coulson and Fury are trying to get everyone to behave around the government.

"Seriously, Stark? This is what you wanted to show me so damn badly you practically had me ripping your arm off to get away?" You were standing in the lab with Tony and Bruce while Tony showed Bruce video of the game from his point of view. Bruce hadn't heard everyone go outside as he had been too wrapped up in an experiment to make working with the Hulk less stressful. "Just admit it, you were jealous of the CIA agent talking to me."

Tony tried his best to look offend at your accusation. "Why would I be jealous of him? He looks like a hobbit! I just thought you'd want to show Bruce all the fun he missed."

You rolled your eyes at Tony's denial and went to sit by Bruce. "So how's the experiment coming along?"

"Slowly, unfortunately. So the government's here?" He didn't look up from his desk.

"Yeah, the Secretary of State and a CIA agent that apparently reports directly to him. The secretary seemed to think Fury had captured me, so of course he and I are besties now."

Tony came over and put his head on your shoulder. "Just like you and that agent."

"You mean I've been replaced?" Coulson was standing in the doorway.

"Hey Secret Agent Man. Nah, Stark is just being a big baby about the CIA agent asking me questions." You pushed Tony's head off your shoulder, but he immediately placed it on the top of your head. You let out a long sigh. "Now he's like fucking saran wrap on my ass. It's getting a little annoying."

"A little?" Coulson chuckled.

"Ok, a lot. So what's up? Here to lecture us about playing on company time and around government property, yada yada yada? Or does Fury want to yell at me himself about all that?" Tony tried to wrap his arms around you as you talked so you elbowed him in the stomach. He immediately went down. "Holy fuck, Stark. Personal space! Sorry, Coulson. As fun as this group can be I don't think I could ever be part of the Avengers. I'd end up trying to walk around the compound with Tony clinging to my leg like some damn 3 year old when their parent tries to leave the room."

"I thought you weren't signing anyway."

"I wasn't, but it couldn't hurt to place some of the blame on Stark." You looked over at him on the floor as he was trying to milk his pain to gain sympathy. Rolling your eyes, you reached down to help him up. "Big baby."

Instead, Tony pulled you down on top of him. You instantly flipped off of him and ran to the other side of the table to stand by Coulson. 

"Damnit man! Last time I try to help you up. You were so nice these past 12 hours. Now one CIA agent asks about my mutation and you become a freaking Klingon. We barely even know each other. Why do you care so much?"

"I don't care!" Even Bruce stopped what he was doing to give Tony a look along with yourself and Coulson. "Ok, ok, maybe I do care a little. Look, there's clearly something between us-"

"Yeah, a bolt of lightning if you don't watch your ass."

He slowly walked over, his hands up to show he meant no harm. "C'mon. We had fun out there and you love my witty banter."

"Is that what you call it?"

"Truce, for real. No more invasion of your personal space unless you ask. I promise."

"Thank you, Tony. That's all I ask. I don't mind my friends touching me, but seeing as we just met yesterday you'll have to wait. And no, I don't mean that kind of touching."

"Damn. Ok, fine. How about after this weekend is over I take you to dinner? A peace offering of sorts."

"Seeing as we don't even live on the same side of the country, I'm afraid I'll have to pass. But thanks. If you guys will excuse me, I better grab some lunch after all that flying I just did." You turned to leave and Coulson was right beside you.

"Are you trying to skip out on your lecture?"

"Ah crap. Right. Well let's have it. What rules or laws did I break while out there?"

"How much time do you have?" Fury's voice came from behind you.

"Damn." You turned to face him and he had the Secretary of State and Agent Ross with him. "Actually not much right now, but you can catch me after lunch."

"How 'bout I catch you now." He gestured for you to follow as he turned down a hallway. The other three waited for you to move.

"Sure, now works for me." Your voice dripping in sarcasm as you followed down the new direction. You were starting to feel like prey with the three men behind you, until Coulson passed you to walk next to Fury to whisper. Once that happened, Agent Ross fell into step with you, his boss remaining in the back.

"You're not in trouble so much as we just need to go over the Accords before you sign." Agent Ross spoke to you.

"It's a moot point. I don't plan to become an Avenger nor an X-Men, a thing I have said so many times I feel like I've been saying it in Dothraki for how much people pay attention to it. I just want to go back home, run my business and live my life."

Agent Ross looked at you in surprise. "You're not becoming an Avenger? That's why we're here."

You sighed, feeling you would be doing that several times this weekend. "Of course you are. Apparently everyone knows I'm going to be an Avenger but the person who doesn't want to become an Avenger."

"It's probably for the best," Secretary Ross spoke up behind you. "The less super heroes the better. The less damage can be done."

"Now, now, Ross. No need to be bitter because your life has turned out how you wanted it. I know you hate the fact that creature you created, the Hulk, gets more admiration than you ever did. Not every problem can be solved with guns and bombs." You glanced over your shoulder to see Secretary Ross shooting daggers at you.

You stopped at an office that no doubt belonged to Fury while he was aboard the Helicarrier. You took one of the seats across from Fury and to your surprise Agent Ross took the one next to you while Coulson and Secretary Ross stood off to the side. Fury pulled out a couple of stacks of paper and dropped them onto his desk. "Now Ms. ______, about your 'training exercise' with some of the Avengers....I think it was a good idea."

Someone could have walked into that room that very moment, said you had won the lottery and you would have been less shocked by that. "I'm sorry, roll that by me again?"

"I said, it was a good idea. I have never seen the team work so well together and improvise as easily, the way they switch between each team member to support so as to help them all equally. I know you were using it as an excuse to not feel so trapped in here, but it worked out better than I hoped. We want to extend you a formal offer to join the Avengers and help train them in ways we can't."

Before you had a chance to shoot him down, Agent Ross spoke up. "From my understanding this is not the first time they have asked you to join and I can only imagine it's getting tiring to hear the same request. We have brought a copy of the Accords with us and we want you to look over them and talk more with the team before you officially decide."

"And if you choose 'no', you'll have to officially retire."

You looked over at Secretary Ross with the most confused look on your face. "Retire? Do you have any idea what the actual hell is going on in this room? I can clearly assume you don't mean from my taco truck so you must mean from being a super hero. Which, spoiler alert, I'm not now nor was I ever one. I don't know what part of what I said out in the hall made you think I was running around the Arizona desert at night like some vigilante. The Desert Rat, here to stop crime!"

Fury and Coulson laughed at the pose you struck near the end of your mini speech, while Secretary Ross glowered at you. "I meant it, Ms. ______."

"And so did I, Captain Oblivious. I don't use my freaking powers for that nonsense. Sure as hell not about to start now."

"Please," you turned back to face Agent Ross. "Please, Ms. _____. Just look over the paperwork. That's all I ask."

Shaking your head, you took the packet from him. "Sure, fine. Just like when SHIELD wanted me to come here to visit. May as well agree cause it's not like the government understands the word 'no'."

Standing up, you quietly left the room not caring if Fury was done. Soon you came to the cafeteria and after grabbing a tray of food, you sat off by yourself to read this stupid packet. You had barely started when you could see someone sit across from you in your peripheral vision. "Sorry, not trying to be rude, but apparently I need to read this nonsense so I'm not really up to chat."

"I was hoping I could help." You looked up to see it was Agent Ross who had sat down.

"Agent Ross. I may make an exception for you as this whole thing is clearly in legal eagle speak. How in the world do you guys get through it?"

He gave you a genuine smile as he laughed. "Yeah, it's definitely not a quick read. But I can give you the highlights." 

You shook my head, "no. I better not accept any help from the enemy. It could come back to bite me in the butt."

"The enemy? Is that because you're a mutant and I'm CIA? Or does it have to do more with your boyfriend being extra clingy when I'm nearby?"

You choked on your drink and covered up your mouth as your lungs tried to escape your body. Agent Ross looked concerned until you got a hold of yourself. "Ok, side note: soda burns like hell in the lungs. Though that is kind of a duh statement."

"To put it mildly." Agent Ross laughed.

"As for what you just said, it would have to be the former as I don't have a boyfriend. I have to assume you mean Stark and he sure as hell isn't that. The man and I just barely met yesterday." You cautiously took another sip and then continued. "Though I do believe he is a bit jealous of you, even if he won't admit it. He's been trying to flirt with me since last night and more than a little frustrated it hasn't gotten him anywhere. Then he sees us having a conversation and just reacted, not realizing there wasn't anything behind it. He's like a toddler that doesn't know how to share his toys, even when the toy isn't his to begin with."

This caught Agent Ross by surprise. "Stark is jealous of me? The guy's some genius billionaire and a super hero."

"So? Those things aren't his personality. Though being a billionaire no doubt contributed to odd points in his personality. Not to mention, his flirting technique needs work."

He laughed at that. "Now I don't believe that one bit! I've heard the stories."

"As have I. But I have no desire to be a notch on Iron Man's bedpost. If he managed to get his head out of his ass long enough to flirt with me well enough to get me to agree to a date, he would be disappointed as I would not sleep with him until he and I were in a relationship. Not my usual M.O., but with someone like Stark it would be necessary."

"I have a hard time believing you would turn down a date with him. Not saying you're easy to get to, just I've see how he looks at you."

"Then you should have been in the lab right before our meeting. Because that's exactly what I did. Though it didn't help that he was annoying me all the way up to when he asked me." You looked at the phone book size packet again and growled. “I can’t. I can’t bring myself to even care. I know some good is coming from the Accords and rumor has it you guys had to modify them after the whole snapture event, but I can’t bring myself to read it. It’s a moot point as I stated before.”

“I really wish you would reconsider. You seem like someone the world needs.”

“Yeah, or fears. The extent of my powers, they tend to frighten people.”

“I’m not scared of you.” He smiled at you.

“That’s only because you haven’t seen what I can do?”

“Can I have a demonstration so I can judge myself?”

You stared into his eyes while you debated. This whole weekend was supposed to go quick and without incident. Get in, get out, and tell no one what you can do. Not only have you already told Coulson what you could do, you played flying tag with some of the Avengers. And now a CIA agent wanted to see what you could do. It’s really dark in this rabbit hole, Alice.

“Yeah, sure. Meet me on the landing pad at sundown.”


	6. Extraodinary Girl In An Ordinary World

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Reader goes against her judgement and shows Everett and the Avengers some of what she can do.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel like that Kermit the Frog meme:
> 
> Me- My last story had Reader getting together with Everett. This time it should be like Tony or maybe even Thor.
> 
> Me at me- Do another one with Everett. There are hundreds already about Reader with an Avenger.
> 
> *sigh* I really need to stop binge watching Civil War and Black Panther.  
> (Btw, still unsure lol!)

After your semi awkward, kinda lunch with Agent Ross, you searched the Helicarrier for Steve for some one on one training. You knew very few mutants that had your level of strength and most of them lived in upstate New York as an X-Men. Rarely did you get to exert your full level of strength and something told you the same thing was true for Steve. As you searched, you ran across Coulson again.

"Hey, Phil."

"Did you just call me Phil?"

"Yeah, well my time is almost up so what's in a name? I could go back to Coulson if you want."

"Actually, I kind of liked Secret Agent Man."

You couldn't stop yourself from laughing at that. "Well then you are forever dubbed that and anyone else who says otherwise can fight me. Speaking of which, have you seen Steve? I want to do some one on one training and I feel he's best equipped for that."

"He is already in one of the training rooms....can I come watch?"

"Uh, sure. Why not?" The look that came over Coulson's face was adorable. Like telling a 5 year old he was about to meet Santa. You would later find out from Nat that Coulson was pretty much a huge Captain America fan and really wanted to see him fight in person. It was adorably dorky. "So do I get a cool nickname at least?"

"Khaleesi," Coulson said without hesitation.

You did a double take, surprised he decided to bestow upon you the Dothraki name for queen given to Daenerys Targaryen. "Really? Never would have pegged you for a Game of Thrones fan. So why Khaleesi?"

"You remind me of her. Really strong, outgoing, want what you want and willing to get it, clearly not a follower."

"Ah. Figured it was because of my silver hair."

"That too." You laughed as you entered the training room where Steve was attacking a punching bag.

"Hey Rogers!" Steve stopped long enough to look at you as you walked farther into the room. "Is your shield nearby? I wanna train." 

"Yeah, it's over on the wall. But I think it would be unfair to fight with it."

You smirked. "Don't worry about it, just grab the shield."

He shrugged, figuring it was your funeral, and grabbed the shield. Coulson immediately tried to find a safe place to sit and watch, but you could see him bounce in place out of the corner of your eye. Nat and Clint walked in then, clearly intent on training.

"What's going on?" Nat was watching Steve go through a few practice throws with his shield. 

"I'm gonna fight Cap, assuming it doesn't give Secret Agent Man a heart attack." You stepped on to the training mat and began to stretch. 

"Oh man, we gotta watch this Nat! Wish I had some popcorn." Clint immediately took a seat by Coulson and Nat followed.

Steve stepped up to the mat and you began to circle each other. He swung with the shield and you easily ducked underneath, rolling to pop up behind him and sweep his legs out from under him. He flipped up and managed to get a hit in on your side with his arm causing you to fly off sideways which you quickly turned into a sideways somersault and land in a crouch. You continued the dance, trying harder and harder to land a blow that would allow one of you to pin the other in defeat. Soon you had attracted a crowd with your noise and you could hear bets being placed on who would win. 

You went to throw a punch directly at Cap's chin only for him to use his shield to block it. Your fist hit the center and actually caused him to be pushed back a few feet which illicit a large gasp from the audience. Shaking out your hand real quick, you jumped up and flipped over the stunned Avenger, landing on the non-shielded side. Grabbing his free hand, you used it to flip him over your head and onto the ground. You twisted his arm back and used your foot to pin his head down.

"I win!" You declared before letting go and helping him up. There was a mixture of boos and cheers from the crowd. Coulson clearly looked torn: glad his new friend had won, glad he saw Captain America fight, sad Cap had lost.

"That was pretty impressive." Steve rubbed his shoulder as he looked down at you. "How's your hand?"

You looked at the knuckles that were starting to bruise. "Eh, I've had worse. There will be bruises, but nothing's broken. Damn impressive shield." 

"Impressive strength. I'm not use to fighting dames on the same level as Bucky. I mean....I didn't mean it that way." He blushed as he realized what he had said.

"No, it's cool. You still have some of the 1940's programmed into you plus you're not used to mutant level strength. Gives you an air of innocence despite what you've been through. Stay gold, pony boy. Stay gold." You patted him on the arm and went to find ice for your hand. 

Close to sunset you began to make your way to the door leading to the landing strip outside to meet Everett. This was screaming at you as a giant catastrophe, but you couldn't stop your feet. You walked passed the lab and heard Tony call your name.

"Where are you going? I'm in here."

"I'm going outside, where you aren't." Bruce chuckled at that. "No, but seriously I'm going outside to stretch my powers for a little bit if you guys wanna watch. I can't use everything as there are no animals aboard and no plants so it'll pretty much look like an insane ocean storm."

"Sure, sounds fun." Bruce got up from his stool, but Tony sat sulking.

"What's going on, Stark?"

"What's going on with you and that agent?"

You rolled your eyes as you walked over. "Which one? Secret Agent Man or the one you said looked like a hobbit? And why do you care?"

He gently took your hand and it felt good in his rough ones. "I don't know why I care. Frankly I shouldn't. But you've managed to get under my skin and I really want to get to know you more. Guess I just don't want any competition."

"That's not up to you, Tony. Now again, which agent?"

"I guess either."

You snorted at that and rolled your eyes again. "Well Coulson and I are finally friends, which is amazing considering how annoyed I was with him at first. As for Agent Ross, I know him as well as I know you so there's your answer to that. Take it as you will. Now are you going to join us or are you going to just sit there and pout?"

"Alright, I'll join you guys." You went to pull your hand out of his, but he noticed the bruises. "What happened here?"

"Cap and I were training together and I punched his shield. It's all Kool and the Gang, no broken bones." You pulled your hand away and followed Bruce out of the lab and down the hall. Along the way you ran into more Avengers and you told them what you would be doing.

Once outside, you saw Agent Ross waiting for me. He raised an eyebrow at the crowd that followed you out and you just shrugged your shoulders.

"They found out what I was doing and wanted to come watch. Figure if I'm showing one person, might as well show the whole team. The Secretary of the State isn't coming, is he?"

"No, he has a phone conference right now with the Pentagon. Perfect timing really." He noticed the bruises on your hand when you went to brush your hair out of your face. "What happened? Punching Stark for being annoying again?"

You couldn't help but laugh at that. "Nah, I was training with Cap and I punched his shield. Bruised my knuckles pretty well."

"You punched his shield?! It's made of vibranium!" He immediately grabbed your hand to double check that nothing was broken and you felt a flush hit your cheeks.

"That would explain why it didn't dent when I hit it. But it's ok, I'm fine. Super strength is part of my mutation." You gently pulled your hand from his. "I better get started on my stage show."

"Uh, yes! Of course!" The reality that he was just holding you hand seemed to hit him as well and he walked off to one side to watch away from the Avengers.

Turning away from everyone, you walked to the edge of the Helicarrier and felt your powers flow through you. Clouds began to form and faint lightning could be seen along the edges. Below you, the ocean began to churn and waves rose to meet the floating fortress. Soon waves were shooting up over the sides of the Helicarrier and you were at least 150 above the surface. You used the winds to swirl the clouds and had lightning reach out and hit the surface of the ocean. The finale came when you had a lightning bolt head for you and you threw a long stream of fire at it, causing a beautiful spray of sparks that disappeared before they could reach the Helicarrier. 

Everyone behind you began to clap and cheer, and it honestly startled you. Spinning around, you could see how everyone had thought what you had done was really amazing. Not scared that you were able to conjure all those elements, not terrified that they could have been sucked up into an ocean storm. Just true wonderment on their faces. 

Coulson, Everett, and Tony seemed to be the loudest to cheer your talents. 

"Way to go, Khaleesi!"

"Thanks, Secret Agent Man!" You laughed.

Tony shot over to you and began to whirl you around the deck. His arms felt nice around you and you were annoyed with yourself over that. "See? We need that on our team! Come join us, get to know us, be with us."

There was no mistaking that he really meant be with him, but you weren’t ready for a life like this. No matter how much people seemed to love your gifts.

Breaking away from Tony, you were instantly face to face with Agent Ross. He bowed his head as he spoke. "That was really impressive. I can see why you would think people would be afraid of you after seeing all that."

"That wasn't even everything I can do, but it's not like we have plants or animals up here." You smirked. "You're not afraid of me?"

"No. Should I be?"

"If you were smart, you would be. This is an insane amount of power for one person to wield."

"Maybe, but I still think you would be good for the team."

"Maybe, but I'm still not ready for that." And with that, you went inside the Helicarrier to wait out your last 20 hours.


	7. Play It Again, Sam

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Reader prepares to leave the Helicarrier much to a few people's chagrin and they try to change her mind one last time.

You didn't bother to have dinner in the cafeteria, knowing damn well you would be surrounded by a crowd looking to get you to stay. So you quietly grabbed some food and bee lined to your room. There, you finally peeled off your jacket from that morning, the realization that you were still in your flight outfit from earlier hitting you. You flew, fought Cap, and conjured the elements in this outfit and you desperately needed a shower and sleep. 

But of course it could never be that simple. Shortly after you had started eating there was a knock on the door. You opted to ignore it, hoping they would think you were asleep. No such luck as another knock occurred followed by a voice calling through.

"Khaleesi, I know you're still up."

Sighing, you got up to answer the door. "What's up, Secret Agent Man?"

"Can I come in?"

"Yeah, sure. I'm just eating a little before bed." You moved out of the way so Coulson could come into the room. As you were using the desk to eat, he sat on the edge of the bed. You sat back down at the desk and picked at your food. "Alright, get on with it. What's this list of pros you're going to give me to stay?"

"How do you know that's why I'm here?" He looked up at your face, a small smile on his.

"Because it's the whole reason why I'm here in the first place. Get the Avengers their first ever mutant." You took a bite of your food. "Unless you're here to hire me to seduce Stark so that way someone would have control over him. In that case, I will need a lot of money upfront."

He chuckled at that. "No, that's not why I'm here. Although that is a good idea. I'll have to run it by Fury. But I am going to try to get you to stay."

"Yeah, figured as much. It's the reason why I was avoiding eating in the cafeteria. How many are gathered there?"

"The Avengers that are here plus Agent Ross."

You nodded your head. "Well thank you in advance for not ratting out my location. Unless you do so once you leave this room. Then fuck you."

You both laughed as you pushed your plate away, no longer having the energy to even eat. "Not hungry?"

"More like really tired. I don't fly often at home nor use my powers to that extent so I'm a little drained. When a mutant tries to hide, they don't get to stretch their wings and so when we use our powers we're either really inexperienced and can hurt someone or rusty and become drained of energy."

"And you're the latter?"

You nodded. "My powers began to develop when I was 14, so I've had over 20 years to practice. It helps living in Arizona. So much empty desert in the southern half and beautiful forest in the northern half. Plenty of places for me to practice undetected. Or so I thought. I'm guessing that's how I ended up on SHIELD's radar."

"For the most part. We were receiving reports about trees that seemed to have sprung up overnight and animals that were bothering certain areas and towns suddenly leaving without any issue."

"If I don't do that, animals needlessly die." You tucked your feet underneath you and stared at the ground, energy slowly leaving you. "Look, I'm flattered y'all want me to stay - or worried, not sure which yet - but I should really clean up and get some sleep. I promise to come to the cafeteria in the morning for an ‘official’ conversation. I’ll even pretend to show interest."

Coulson stood up and put a hand on your shoulder. He seemed to hesitate for a minute then gently squeezed it. You put your hand on his and returned the gesture. "Goodnight, Khaleesi."

"Goodnight, Secret Agent Man. This day has been interesting, to say the least." You looked up at his face and saw an emotion quickly pass through his eyes and was gone before you could figure out what it was.

The next morning you made it to the cafeteria before anyone else that you knew. Slowly the group trickled in and took seats at the table. Tony was the first one, opting to sit on your right while Rhodey was close behind him. Sam and Steve sat across from you and Bruce, Nat and Clint followed. Agent Ross showed up before Coulson and took the seat to your left. When Coulson finally showed up, he frowned at the seats taken and ended up sitting in between Rhodey and Steve.

It was quiet at first. Awkwardly quiet, the air filled with everything everyone wanted to say. Tension was also all around. Mostly a tension between Tony and yourself as well as Agent Ross and yourself which you had not anticipated. And Coulson..... you were still trying to figure out what it was you had seen in his eyes last night. Was it wonderment? Fear of you? Hope that you would join? You couldn’t tell, but he kept glancing in your direction and frowning at Agent Ross. He must have wanted to use breakfast to continue trying to convince you to stay here and wanted to sit next to you for better access.

Finally you couldn’t take the quiet, the tension, the waiting for the other shoe to drop. You slammed an open hand on the table, careful not to use too much strength so as not to break it. Everyone jumped at once and you almost laughed, if you hadn't felt like screaming.

“I can’t take it anymore! Just fucking get it out now! We all know why everyone has gathered around me so let’s rip this band-aid off for fuck sake!” You took a deep breath. "Holy hell that felt good."

Slowly everyone looked around at each other before they all busted out laughing from your outburst. You tried to resist, but soon you were laughing with them.

"This isn't funny guys! It's annoying as hell!"

"I know," Nat said with tears in her eyes from laughing so hard. "I just half expected the table to snap in half and Stark's food to fly in his face. The mental image alone was too much."

Natasha's description brought on a new bought of laughter from everyone. Finally, Steve calmed down enough to be able to speak. "I'm sorry. You're right, it's not funny. We're just at a loss for what to say to you. Most people would jump at the opportunity to join the team, but you were barely even phased when you met us. We really like you and we would really like you on our team."

"You and your dog." Sam pipped up.

Before you could reply, Tony chimed in. "Look, if it takes me having my entire breakfast thrown into my face I will gladly take one for the team if you promise to stay." 

This illicit more laughter from the table, especially when Rhodey picked up Stark's plate and held it at the ready. You waved your hand at him to put in back. "No, no. As much as I would love to see that, we'll save that as a last resort. Look, I- I get why you guys want me to stay, I really do. And you haven't even seen half of what I can do. But I've only ever wanted the simple life. I mean, really. Do you guys honestly think you're the first ones to approach me? Professor Xavier beat you by 10 years. I was a little more inclined then because I would be around people who were more like me, but at the end of the day I didn't want to be a super hero. Plus, not a huge fan of snow as a native Arizonian so a school - or a compound - in upstate New York wasn't an ideal location for me."

"Can't you just control the weather?" Clint asked.

"Should I really deny the whole state snow just because I become a whiny little bitch when it drops below 65F?" You laughed at Clint. "Or even just wherever I am staying? With weather control comes the responsibility not to be a dick about it."

Agent Ross reached over and placed his hand on yours, causing both Tony and Coulson to frown. "It's actually really beautiful when it snows. And look at it this way, you would be doing good by helping in the aftermath of storms."

You looked at him and gave a small smile. "Maybe, but....it's not an easy decision to just up end my entire life because you guys want a mutant on the team."

Nat looked in your eyes, a smile playing there. "We don't want a mutant. We want you. The fact that you're a mutant is just a bonus. You've really clicked with us and trust me, some of us don't trust easily."

"Ok, look. I don't leave until first thing in the morning. Let's play one more round of tag before lunch and then I'll spend the afternoon trying to read the Accords before my brain shuts down to save me from an aneurysm. Then I'll go home and think everything over."

Everyone seemed to be in an agreement, so you left the table to put your boots and jacket on for flying. As you were finishing, Nat was calling through the door. "It's open, Nat. I'm decent."

She walked in and watched you buckle your boots up before dropping a bomb on you. "So, who are you going to fuck first? Agent Ross or Tony?"

Your hands slipped and you looked at her like she had just grown a third eye. "What the actual fuck? What are you talking about, Nat?"

She rolled her eyes at you. "Oh please, it's so obvious that both boys were drooling over you at breakfast. Kinda surprised on the CIA agent actually, but he's met the team before so I trust him. He's level headed, unlike Stark, and doesn't hate mutants, unlike the Secretary of State."

"Yeah, I know. But there's nothing between him and I or Stark and I. So let's drop it."

"Girl, don't think you can lie to a master spy. It's bad enough Coulson has some puppy crush on you-"

'WAIT, WHAT?! Is that why he was acting weird at breakfast?!"

"Jesus Christ, do you ever pay attention to your surroundings?!"

"Only for survival purposes! That's it, leaving today." But Nat grabbed your arm before you could reach for your bag and threw you back down into the chair.

"Just sit and listen! I said a crush, it's nothing major. He told me he does not want to make things awkward, but he is going to be protective of you. The whole team agrees you would be good for Stark, but honestly if getting together with Agent Ross will bring you into the fold we'll take that too. He is stationed in DC so not like he would be far away."

You sat there digesting her words, realizing now that was probably what you had seen in Coulson's eyes last night. How in the actual hell did you go from being a 'prisoner' to being friends with everyone to three different guys having three different types of crushes on you?! This, this is why you rarely left your house. "Oh hell. I can't....I just....I wish you had brought this to my attention after I made my decision. How the fuck am I supposed to read the Accords later with this nonsense rattling around?!"

She smirked at you. "Maybe Agent Ross can help you study."

You narrowed your eyes at her. "I hate you."

She laughed as she followed you out the room and down the hall. "No you don't. You hate yourself for not seeing all this sooner."

"I was actually happy not seeing any of this. I think my brain needs bleach."

"Liar," she laughed as you walked out to the landing strip. She leaned in to whisper in your ear as you watched the other three guys get ready for the game. "I mean, you could do worse in your selection."

"Sadly, I have done worse. But that is literally not the point at all for this weekend."

You broke away from her and ran over to Sam, Tony, and Rhodey to play your game, reminding them that Stark was still 'it' from yesterday. Since no one was scheduled to fly in (thanks again, Fury for warning us), you had free range and got a little more daring with your flying. At one point, you flew low over the Helicarrier to avoid Tony. It was a moot point. He reached over to tag you and you rolled out of the way.....right into Agent Ross. You tumbled over the Helicarrier deck and stopped with him on top of you. 

"Ow." Was all he said.

"Sorry," You laughed. "That was completely my fault for flying too low. I knew better but I was being a show off."

He climbed off and helped you up. "Well, at least this weekend will make for an interesting story when I return to work."

"Very true." You stood there for a minute awkwardly until you could hear Sam in your ear.

"Goddamn woman! Either kiss already or get back in the game!"

"Oh, you die for that!" You declared. You ran down the deck, dropped down to your side to slide under one of the fighter jets, and launched over the edge. Your timing was amazing and you passed by Sam, grabbing his legs for a brief moment to drag him in your decent. After you scared him a little, you let go and flew off.

"FUCKING HELL WOMAN!"

"That'll teach you, bird brain!"

After the game, you all gathered back in the cafeteria to have lunch and laugh over certain moments, mainly you crash landing into a government agent. Bruce showed up to watch this round and even got a few jokes in at your expense. When you finished, you went to your room to grab the copy of the Accords and went to sit in an empty conference room hoping no one would find you there so you could finally try to ready this hot mess.

You must have re-read the first section 5 times before Coulson walked in, and after Nat's bomb earlier you had to keep your eyes on the packet so you wouldn't constantly look for clues in his face. You just wanted your friend back! "Hey Secret Agent Man."

"Hey Khaleesi. How goes the reading?"

"Like someone took stereo instructions from the 80's and had a lawyer re-write them. My soul keeps threatening to leave my body if I keep trying to read this nonsense." You ran your hands over your face, mentally done with the forms in front of you. "My mortgage was less confusing."

He laughed at your mental pain and slid something over to you. You opened your eyes to see a brownie sitting in from of you. "I figured you could use a sugar rush since I haven't seen you drink coffee."

"Thanks. I actually can't stand the taste of coffee. I've tried so hard so many times and it just won't take. So usually it's an energy drink if I need anything." You took a bite of the brownie and instantly felt better from the rush of chocolate. "Thanks again. This may help."

"I could get Stark if you want. I know he's read it before and could go over everything with you." He sounded reluctant but no doubt would do it if you asked.

"Nah, he would probably spend the entire time trying to flirt with me and saying he'd put my new room next to his. I said it before and I'll say it again, he's gonna be part of the reason I say no to all of this."

"I would figure he would be a reason to say yes."

Sighing, you looked up at him. "Can I be honest? Like brutally honest?"

"Haven't you been this whole time?"

"Eh, not to this degree. Part of what I say is gonna come off as mean but it's all true." You took a breath, "I won't date Tony. And I want people to stop using him to get me to stay. He and I deserve better. Now here comes the brutally honest part. Under normal circumstances there would be no question. He's very attractive, charming, and funny. I could easily give him one night without a second thought or an ounce of regret. But I won't because he also has his head up his ass most of the time, practically lives in the lab here so I can only imagine how it would be in the compound, and has the attention span of a 5 year old on red bull."

"People think you would be good for him."

"And how is that fair to me? I'm not fucking duct tape, I'm a person. I get he has issues from being a super hero, no doubt it comes with the job. But the man needs a therapist, not a girlfriend to fuck every once in a while in an attempt to forget what he's seen."

"So if you say yes to the Avengers...."

"He will need to know my door is not open to whenever the desire is there. I'm a person to be spoken to, not used." You sat back and looked at the packet again, frowning. "If, and I mean IF, he changed his ways then I may consider it. But I may have also decided someone else was more worth my time."

"Who?"

"That's a story for another time. I really should try to finish this." Coulson nodded and got up to leave the room, almost before you could see the sadness in his eyes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, did not mean to add that stuff with Coulson, it just seemed like a natural progression. But don't worry my lovely readers, Reader's choice will be only between Everett and Tony.


	8. Which Way Is Home?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Reader is home and trying to get back into the groove of her life, but that weekend won’t leave her mind. Not helping is a surprise visitor.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, I may have finally made a decision. The pairing won’t be mentioned in this chapter, just eluded to.
> 
> Btw, anytime you guys want a different pairing, let me know and I'll start a new story once this is done! (Sorry, I have absolutely no idea how to do a one-shot since I'm such a nerd for detail, but I could always give it a try if someone wanted one.)

Being home was an adjustment to say the least. You missed your new friends, you missed giving Fury hell, and Gods help you, you missed a certain person. But you refused to think about him, opting instead to focus on your business again, tending to your garden out back, and your little dog. Zero was a relief to have around you. Hearing his tiny nails click over the tile as he ran around smelling your bag, you, and all your equipment you used while gone calmed you after all that insanity when you first got home. He had always seemed like he was trying to melt his body into yours, but after you got home from being gone almost 3 days he became your white shadow.

Your employees had a few questions for you when you came back to the truck, but as none of them knew you were a mutant you just explained you had a family emergency and went out of town for those few days. They believed you and left it alone knowing you didn't like to talk about personal things with your staff. Not on that level. Your small group of friends were another story. There were four of you and two of you were mutants, the other one having the ability to create force fields. When you told them where you had been, he got a worried look on his face. You explained that you never once mentioned him or what he could do but to take that at face value since they found out about you without anyone ratting you out. He nodded and said he was fine, but you could see in his eyes he was already planning on moving out of state. You would miss him, but you completely understood as you had toyed around with the idea of living off the grid years back.

You knew SHIELD was still watching you while you tried to make up your mind about joining. Even if Fury hadn't already warned you, the agents tipped you off. Either they really sucked at blending in or you were getting better at spotting them. Hopefully the latter as they are supposed to be protecting your country. 

"Earth to _______. Are you there?" You looked up from your drink to see your sister staring intently at you. She had been the only one in your family to stick by your side after your X Gene was activated. She never produced a mutation herself, but she did everything in her power to protect you. 

"Yeah, Rosa. Sorry. I was just thinking of-"

"You're trip last month?" You nodded. "Then why are you still here? You clearly had a connection with all of them. Hell, you don't even have to be a super hero. Make Tony Stark hire you on as a full time chef for them."

You laughed at the idea. "It's not just the team, it's....."

"The Three Amigos that fell for you?" You glared at her. "Yo, don't look at me like that! If you didn't want me to give you hell you shouldn't have said shit!"

You watched your sister as she sat there, her drink forgotten as she watched you think. “Rosa, it’s not so easy to decide on this. I really like the life I have here. I should just tell them no and move on.”

“What about the life you could have with him? Whomever that him is? And just think of all the places you would visit and people you would save? I could take over the truck. It is our family recipe you use. Or I can move with you so you have family nearby.”

“I really love that you would move for me. But if I do join the team, it’s because I want to help people not because I wanna get laid on a regular basis.”

“Hey, consider it a perk!” You both laughed. “But seriously, you could do amazing work for the world. Show everyone that mutants may be powerful but nothing to fear.”

“You would be right if it wasn’t for those fuckers out to prove that statement wrong.”

“Screw the Brotherhood! You’re not an X-Men so it’s not your problem.”

“They are every mutant’s problem! As long as they are around, people will never fully trust someone like me.”

Rosa just shook her head at you. “Then join the Avengers and make a difference.”

You sighed. “Maybe.”

Rosa finished her drink and got up. “You ready to go?”

You shook your head. “No, I still have some things to think about. I’ll catch an Uber home.”

Rosa hugged you and left before you ordered another drink. You heard a familiar voice from behind. “Is this seat taken?”

“Hey Secret Agent Man. Is it your turn to stalk me? I thought you’d be back at the compound.”

Coulson sat in the chair Rosa just vacated. “No, they wanted me to help keep an eye on you until you gave a formal answer. Stark tried to volunteer his services.”

“I have no doubt he tried to volunteer as tribute. Thank you for sparing me that, but I’m afraid I don’t have an answer for you.” You looked back at your drink. You were glad to see your friend but your mind was too all over for any kind of a conversation.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"Not really, but it might help. But not here. Too many ears." A short while later you were on the couch back at your house, Zero curled up in between you. "You know, I had a pretty good life before you guys came and fucked it all up. Now my own sister is willing to move across the country for me."

"I heard."

"That's creepy, man. Don't ever admit that again." You choose not to ask how much he had overheard. You really didn't want him to know you knew he had a crush on you. The less it was mentioned, if at all, the less you would have to turn him down and possibly lose a friend. Anyone would be lucky to have him: he was cute in his own way, dependable, a good listener, and funny. You just didn't feel it with him.

"Should we talk about how the team is preparing the compound just in case you do say yes?"

"Wait, what? Why would they do that? What if I say no? Wait, what are they doing?" You put your glass down and turned to face Coulson, very curious as to what the super friends were up to. Zero got up and climbed into his lap, clearly looking for scratches.

Coulson started to absentmindedly pet Zero. "They're setting up a room for you, complete with a section for Zero once I told them how big he was. Stark even made your bathroom a little bigger and added one of those fake grass pads so you wouldn't have to get up with him in the middle of the night."

"That's....that's actually a good idea for when it rains. He hates getting wet. I have one in my garage for that reason." You were blown away by what they had done.

Coulson continued. "Stark also remodeled the kitchen. Since you wouldn't be able to work your food truck he wanted to make sure you could make whatever you wanted in the compound when not on a mission."

"Stark did that?"

"Yeah, he's changed during this past month. He's trying to listen more, he's working out his issues with Steve and Bucky, and he's even going to therapy."

"Well damn. Look at him go. Good, he can't be a super hero forever and what will he have once he's done other than a bunch of PTSD nightmares? At least he sees that." You leaned back on the couch and looked up at the ceiling. "I just hope he's doing this for himself and not because someone may have told him I would never date him otherwise."

Coulson got the hint. "No, I never told him. But he does like to have FRIDAY record random conversations."

"See? It's creepy crap like that, you over hearing things, and your damn stalkerish agents that make me want to run away and live off the grid. Y'all either have to stop doing all that or stop admitting to it."

"I know, but its part of our job"

You turned your head to face him and tried to say with a straight face, "get a new job."

You both laughed at the absurdity of Coulson having any other type of job. Then before you knew it, he was leaning over and kissing you. In your shocked state, you fell off the couch trying to back away, leaving a stunned Coulson looking down at you, both of your eyes wide.

It was awkwardly quiet for a few minutes before he broke the silence. "Are-are you ok?"

"Uh, yeah. Just....a little shocked is all." You slowly got up and looked down at him. "Um, what just happened?"

"I, uh....I kissed you and then you fell off the couch."

"Ok, I thought that's what happened but I wanted to make sure I didn't imagine anything." You couldn't meet his eyes after all that. You should have had this conversation at the bar, fuck!

"_______, I-" He didn't know what to say, not knowing if you had backed away because you didn't feel the same or because you didn't know how to proceed.

"Look, don't worry about it. It happened and we'll move forward from this. But I think we better call it a night, Coulson."

He went to say something and then changed his mind, simply nodding his head heartbroken you hadn't called him by his nickname. You walked over to the front door, Zero's tiny  _click click click_ trailing behind you, wondering why his new friend was leaving. You said a tense goodnight and you closed the door. 

Two days later, Natasha was busting through my door and heading straight for you in the kitchen. She was clearly there to fight and while she had the skill, you over powered her in strength. In less than two minutes, you had her pinned against the wall, your arm against her throat so she couldn't escape.

'WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK, NAT?!"

"WHY DID YOU HAVE TO HURT PHIL?!"

"What are you talking about?! I haven't done anything!"

"I came to take over for him today and he looked like his best friend was murdered! He refused to talk about it but I know it had to do with you!"

"Don't you take his side in this! You were the one who said he wouldn't make shit awkward! And then he went and fucking kissed me!"

She stopped struggling then. "What?"

"He fucking kissed me the other night! He came over to talk about whether or not I would sign up and he leaned over and kissed me! I didn't know what to do, so I asked him to leave. I didn't even tell him I only saw him as a friend, it was just too damn awkward!" Your lower lip trembled as you realized you may have just lost one of your new friends, and now it was pointless to want to be an Avenger as you couldn't bring yourself to work with Coulson after what just happened. Maybe eventually, but no time soon.

You let go of Natasha and sat down at your table. She pulled out the chair next to you, looking more stunned from what you had revealed than to the fact you had actually beaten her in a fight. "I can't believe he did that. He said he wouldn't make a move unless he knew for sure you felt the same."

"Well I'm going to lay it out there right now that I did nothing to lead him on. We were sitting on the couch, but not close and had Zero in between us. I never touched him in a flirty manner or any of the fucking tells! We were talking about Stark for fuck sake." You took a deep breath. "Nat, did I just lose one of my friends?"

She pulled you in for a hug. "Shhh! No, honey. Phil will get over it, he's tough like that. He only wants you to be happy, even if it isn't with him. And I'm sorry for trying to attack you. It's just, we've been so protective of him since he died during Loki's attack and then brought back."

"No, I completely understand. I would be the same way." Sighing, you sat back in your chair. "Welp, this week has been royally fucked up. I hope you have something else for me."

"A couple of things." She got up and began to make tea for both of you before sitting back down. "So first things first, I think Agent Ross is going back to Germany."

"Germany?" You couldn't hide your disappointment, even if you hadn't spoken to him since you had left the Helicarrier.

"Yeah, he was stationed there back when the Accords first came out and we were hunting Bucky down because we thought he bombed the UN. He was a Deputy Director of a task force out there. I'm sorry, _____."

You shrugged. "Eh, it's probably for the best. I can't see it working out between a mutant and a government agent. A shame I didn't get at least one night with him. But who knows, if it's meant to be it'll happen. Second?"

"Second, you are formally invited to Tony Stark's Costume Halloween Party! I know it's only September, but we wanted to make sure you knew a head of time to prepare as none of us are taking a 'no' on at least that."

You laughed at her enthusiasm. "Well how can I say no to a costume party? Of course I'll come!"

"Great! We'll have Sam or Clint come get you a week before the party. And you have been formally requested to bring Zero with you." She looked down at the tiny dog who was up on his back legs begging for love.

Laughing, you picked up the tiny monster to scratch him all over. "Alright, deal. Now I just need to figure out what to be."

Nat gave me an evil smirk. "Well, I might have an idea...."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, I lied. Coulson can be an option if you guys want. Or not, you guys decide.


	9. Decisions, Decisions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Reader heads to New York for the costume party. There she meets the rest of the Avengers and sees what her new home could be.

A week before Halloween, Clint was at your house helping you pack for your two week trip to the Avengers' Compound. You talked about everything except a certain agent. No doubt Nat had warned him what had happened and told him to keep his damn mouth shut. Clint could be dense at times, but this time he listened and spent most of the flight trying to figure out how to have Zero in his lap while he flew the jet. 

Once you landed, Zero went nuts running all over the grounds outside the compound. Your mutation instantly went into protector mode and you silently told Zero not to wander too far. He immediately bounded back once Tony came outside.

"So this is the over grown rat?" Tony reached down to pet Zero.

"Hey now! That's my rat! Show him some respect!" You came over and Tony gave you a brief hug.

"Hi Sweetheart. Glad you could make it."

"I would never miss a Halloween party! It's my favorite time of year!" You followed Tony into the compound, Zero racing in front, behind, and all around all three of you as you walked down the hall, the  _click click click_ of his nails echoing down the hall.

You reached an opening which must have been the main living room, or an equivalent to that in the building. There you saw the Avengers you had met plus the ones you hadn't. 

Tony clapped his hands together to get everyone's attention and you picked up Zero so he wouldn't rush off to meet anyone too soon. "Guys, this is _____ for those who haven't met her and for everyone except  _Secret Agent Man_ this is Zero. She's here for the Halloween party and once last guilt trip for her to join our team."

You laughed at that and waved your hand, holding Zero in the other. "Hey guys."

"Now not everyone lives here, most are here for the party as well. That's Wanda and Pietro Maximoff, Vision, Thor, James Barnes aka Bucky, Scott aka Ant Man, Hope aka Wasp, Dr Strange, Wong, and Parker aka Spider Man. You know everyone else." You nodded at everyone and gave a small smile to Coulson. "So, do you have a super hero name for once you join?"

"Uh, I haven't really thought about it since I still don't think I'm going to join. But I'll let you know if anything comes to mind." You put Zero down and let him run off to sniff and get scratches. Everyone immediately started to argue over who could hold him. "Damn Stark. You should have gotten these kids a pet long ago."

He laughed at the sight of everyone fighting over an 8 pound dog. "Yeah, I guess so. C'mon, I'll show you to your room which will be your permanent one if you choose to stay."

You started down another hallway and he began to point out where everything was, including the newly renovated kitchen. "Wow, it looks amazing in there!"

"Yeah, I was really hoping that would be the straw that broke the camel's back in your reserve." He looked at you with hopeful eyes.

You couldn't resist and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. "That was very sweet of you, Tony. Coulson told me some changes had been made here but I never expected anything like this."

"Well, I wanted to feel like you could belong here. You and your sister." You had started walking again, but that made you stop in your tracks. "Yeah, if you stay with us, she can move in also. I have a bare room ready right next to yours to be set up in any manner she would like. Phil told me she was your only family. We could even help do whatever is necessary to move your food truck out here and get a new crew so she can have a job."

You blushed and shook your head. "Stark, you are something else."

He smirked at you. "I know."

"Oh my god, how do you fit that head of yours in that helmet?!" You laughed as you continued to walk.

"Nanotech. It forms around my head and ego."

"Thank the gods for that or you'd never be able to go into battle again." Tony opened the door to your room and you were blown away by how perfect it was. The walls were a light blueish grey, like the Arizona sky at dusk right before it turned purple. The floors were hardwood and Zero already had a bed and a feeding area set up in one corner. The bed was a queen which was perfect since Zero preferred to sleep with you and don't even ask how a 8 pound dog takes up half a bed, but he does. The sheets were a slightly darker color than the walls and looked super comfortable. The bathroom mirrored the color scheme and had a beautiful tub on one side and the grass pad for Zero on the other. And on the counter was a vase of white roses. "Tony, it looks amazing in here!"

"Well, we were hoping to bribe you with the compound since being around my amazing personality on a daily basis wasn't enough."

You couldn't help but to laugh at his constant attempts to inflate his ego. "Well, a girl needs more than a genius billionaire as a reason to move across country.”

“Like a government agent or two?” He closed the door behind us as you started to walk back to the main common area.

“What are you talking about?”

“Agent Ross is also coming to the party on Saturday.”

“I thought he was going back to his post in Germany.”

“He might, he hasn’t fully decided if he’ll take that offer or one that moves him to New York.”

“Oh.” A brief pause. “And you invited him to the party? You, who whined that an agent was taking focus off of you?”

He smirked at you. “I know! I’m so benevolent!”

You rolled your eyes. “You truly are, Stark. Now what’s the real reason?”

He stopped and took your hand. “I want you to be happy. Of course I want me to be able to give you that, but I want your happiness no matter who it’s with. So this weekend all three of us will be there and you can choose one. Or even none and show us up!”

You smiled and kissed his cheek again. “Thank you, Tony.”


	10. Fright Week

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Reader spends the week before the party exploring the compound and getting to know the other Avengers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can't believe this may end up being as long, if not longer than Bringing Worlds Together. Man, I can ramble lol!
> 
> The next chapter will be the party and may take more than one day to come out since that may or may not be when Reader chooses. Holy crap, I meant to have an antagonist and it spiraled out of control, lmao!

Shortly after Tony finished showing you around, you had dinner with all the Avengers. You talked more about the upcoming party and you learned that apparently some aliens that had helped after the whole snapture event were going to show up as well. It was very surreal to not be the oddest one in the room.

Dr Strange, Wong, Thor, and you went outside around dusk to show each other what you could all do. It was amazing to know real magic existed in this world when you saw Wong and Dr Strange conjure spells. And the Cloak of Levitation was an impish creature, causing mischief even after Dr Strange asked him to stop. Thor was excited to find someone else who could conjure lightning, and you put on a light show for everyone once it grew dark enough. 

Nat introduced you to Wanda and the three of you became inseparable, immediately running off to your room to discuss whether or not you would join. Nat had filled Wanda in on what had happened on the Helicarrier so you just answered more specific questions.

"Wow, Stark gave your flowers. He must really like you." Wanda gave you a sideways glance.

You picked up the vase and handed it to Wanda. "Will you please take them?"

Nat and Wanda both looked at each other. "What?"

Sighing, you held the roses out again. "Please take them. I can't stand roses and I didn't know how to tell Tony."

Wanda slowly took the flowers while Nat spoke. "I don't get it, ______. I remember you telling Clint, Coulson, and I your favorite things while we were interrogating you. I know you said orchids and lilies. But what's with the hatred towards roses?"

"Because they remind her of our mother." Rosa spoke up from the doorway.

"Rosa! What are you doing here?" You ran over and hugged your sister.

"Sam picked me up. We wanted it to be a surprise for you. If you're going to live here, they wanted me to see the place, also. To have my approval."

You shook your head. "Just when I think I have this group figured out..."

Nat interrupted. "Why is it bad they remind you of your mom?"

Wanda spoke up. "Because she kicked _____ out of the house at 16."

Rosa and you instantly whipped your heads to face Wanda. "How do you know that?!"

"Sorry, I can read minds. I didn't mean to, it was just out there."

You gestured for Wanda and Nat to sit on the bed. "Yeah, I was 14 when my powers started to show. At 15 I told Rosa what I could do and she began to protect me the best she could. She's 5 years older than me, so she was in college but at ASU so she was nearby when I needed her. At 16 I just couldn't take hiding anymore so I told our parents."

Rosa took your hand. "Mom had a garden full of roses in our backyard. We grew up seeing them so they never meant anything special to us. But that day, Mom was out in the garden when ____ went to talk to her. She said some very ugly things and since then neither one of us can look at a rose and not be a little bitter."

"Rosa had her own place and was working as she finished her last year of college. So I moved on her couch, learned many different cooking techniques to make our budget stretch, and even got a job as soon as I was able. It was rough the first few years, but we made it work."

Both girls had tears streaming down their faces as they engulfed Rosa and you in a huge hug. Nat spoke first. "Nope, it's decided. You girls are not allowed to leave ever. I don't care if you don't join the team. We're your damn family now."

You just laughed as you dried your tears. "Thank you. That means a lot to hear."

After you got Rosa settled into her room and explained that Tony left it blank for her to designed it as she wished, Nat and Wanda lead her on a tour of the compound while you snuck out back for a few moments of peace. Nearby was a lake and you made that your destination as you walked along the dark lawn. There you found a bench and sat while making tiny waves in the water. You soon heard footsteps approach.

"Hey, ____. Can we talk?'

"Hey Secret Agent Man. Of course. What, no nickname anymore?"

Coulson sat on the bench next to you, looking down at his feet. "I didn't think it would be ok anymore."

"Of course it is. Just like I said you are Secret Agent Man from here on out or that person will have to fight me on it."

He nodded his head and reached into his jacket. "These are for you. I really want to apologize for last month."

You took the lilies he handed you, smiling at the fact he remembered. "There's no reason to apologize, Phil."

"_____, I kissed you without your permission. I know I read the signals wrong, it's been too long since I last dated anyone so I guess I saw something that wasn't there."

"It's ok, I promise. I'm not mad at you, Phil. I was just shocked because I never stopped to think of us in that manner. You were my first friend in all this insanity and even though I knew how you felt, a part of me just didn't fully process it." You took his hand and squeezed it. "You have quite the champion in your corner, I will say."

"Natasha."

"Yup. She was out for blood when she found out. Can't blame her, I would have done the same thing in her position." You continued to hold his hand and looked at his face. "Phil, I mean what I'm about to say: you would make anyone happy. You're cute, smart, dependable, you don't take anyone's shit, your love for Cap is adorably dorky, and you've got a great dry sense of humor. It's not that it couldn't be you for me, I just never thought about it because I don't like to think of possibly losing friends."

"Rosa was mad, also, but I'm glad she restrained herself from kicking me."

"When did you see Rosa?"

"When she first got here. I was the one who sent Sam for her. I figured you would like to have her here for this big decision."

"You're the one who brought Rosa here?" He nodded. "Phil, I-"

Unable to finish your sentence, you just embraced him in a hug instead. He was unsure at first, but then put his arms around you. "____, may I-uh...can we...unless it's-"

"Yes, Phil. You can kiss me." You pulled apart from the hug and he gave you a very gentle kiss, one of his hands on your cheek. You smiled at him. "Thank you, that was perfect." 

You walked back to the compound, not touching but a little closer than normal. As you walked, he told you how the compound came to be, who bought out the tower in Manhattan, and how it was better for the team to be out here in upstate versus the city. You talked about the party and he tried to get you to say what you would be wearing.

"Honestly, I have no idea. Nat picked it out and hasn't shown me yet. Only taken my measurements to make sure it fits. How about you?"

"It's a surprise."

You gave him a playful shove and headed off to your room. The next morning, you were awoken by Rosa jumping onto the bed, making sure not to land on the side Zero was on.

"Get up, lazy! I wanna explore some more!"

"Seven Hells! Get the fuck outta here! For once I can sleep in and not have to worry about the truck. Let me sleep, woman!"

"No! You have to tell me what happened with Phil! And what's going on with Tony?" She continued to bounce.

"Jesus, how many cans of red bull did you have?" You tried to pull the blanket over your head, but she ripped it right off.

"Only 2, but I made sure to bring you one." She pointed to the one on the dresser. "C'mon, get up! You gotta tell me why the CIA is here!"

That woke you up. "The CIA?"

"Yeah, some guy named Everett? But Tony says his first name is agent."

You laughed despite being so tired. "Yeah, he loves to say that in regards to government agents. He even said that about Phil at one point."

Rosa stopped bouncing. "Wait, is he the infamous Third Amigo? Damn girl, he's cute. This certainly won't be an easy pick for you."

You tossed a pillow at her. "Shut. Up."

She bounced out of the room, but not before making threats about coming back with Nat and a bucket of ice water if you weren’t up in 30 minutes. So much for sleeping in. You dragged yourself out of bed to shower and change. By the time Rosa was back with Nat and Wanda, you were putting on makeup for the day.

Nat set the bucket down on the counter top. "Good, you're up. I don't think Shellhead would like it if I soaked this brand new bed."

You looked from the bucket up to Nat's face, confusion and worry fighting for dominance. "What the....YOU WERE ACTUALLY GOING TO SOAK ME WITH ICE WATER?! WHAT THE SHIT?!"

"Relax, it dries. It's only water, Mother Nature." She waited until you were done applying your makeup and then grabbed your hand, dragging you down the hall into the communal kitchen. There most of the team had gathered around several boxes of donuts and bagels. You grabbed another red bull and a cheese bagel and went over to the toaster to finished fixing the food.

There you were met by a familiar face. "Agent Ross, what a pleasant surprise."

He smiled shyly at you. "Good morning, ____. And please, call me Everett. I'm not here for official work so there's no need for the agent part."

"Ok, Everett. I'm glad you could make it for the party this weekend. I was told you were going to be off to Germany again."

You walked over to a table and sat down to eat. "I was. I may still, I haven't really decided. I had a good team there, but I also want to be where I am needed the most."

"Makes sense. I bet it's beautiful out there. Rosa and I always talked about seeing Europe."

"Maybe you should go be a super hero there." He smiled at you.

"Great idea, if only I knew anything about living out there." You laughed. "First ever superhero to not know how to save the local population."

You both laughed as you left the kitchen area and began to walk around the complex. You lead the way out the back door and towards a large greenhouse. Tony had mentioned something about the plants not growing properly and you promised to take a look at them.

"What are we doing out here?"

"Well Stark mentioned that he thought some of plants back here were dying. He and Bruce are hella smart, but plants are kinda out of their field of expertise. So I figured I'd lend a hand, because really who better?"

"So I get to see these other powers?"

"Yup!" You opened the greenhouse door and followed Everett inside. You slowly walked down each path, gently holding your hands out so you could brush each plant as you passed. Most of the plants were doing fine, but every once in a while you touched one that was clearly sick. After accessing the entire building, you went to work. You grabbed the people who worked in the greenhouse and made half of the leave to get worms and ladybugs and the rest to collect any used coffee grounds and egg shells from the compound. You could heal the plants instantly, but they needed a long term solution. 

The team from the compound came back first and you instructed them to start mixing the items into all the planters. Then you went back to each sick plant and gently touched the roots through the soil. Everett watched as the plant first shuddered and then began to straighten up. One even began to bloom. Once each plant was revived, you left instructions for when the team with the bugs came back and left with Everett.

"Well, it was not as bad as I thought. The plants just need more nutrients, hence the coffee and eggs. And the worms will help move that along."

"The lady bugs?"

"I saw some bite marks on leaves. The lady bugs will take care of them." As you walked back to the compound, Zero came zooming over to sniff the new comer. "There you are, you little asshole. Where have you been hiding?"

Zero immediately demanded attention from Everett, who happily obliged the tiny dog. "He is a cutie."

You sat down on the steps of the back of the compound, watching Zero sniff around as the sun rose higher. "Yeah, he's mommy's little pain in the ass. But I love him."

"So no crazy games of tag today? Just want to make sure if I need to wear extra padding."

You blushed and looked down at your hands. "I am so sorry again for that. I'm not usually so careless when flying."

"Well I can think of worse things than a beautiful woman crash landing into me." He gave you another shy smile and scooted a little closer.

You talked more about that weekend and how you still hadn't decided on whether or not to join. "Though Stark is trying to do everything in his power to bribe me."

"Have you thought about joining other teams or divisions? Like the CIA?"

"Sure. And then I thought about how fun it would be to lick a cactus that's been set on fire." You rested your head on his shoulder. "The CIA would never trust a mutant in their ranks and I'm not the best at just receiving orders without smarting off. How long do you think I would last before Secretary Ross tried to have me removed?"

He put his head on yours. "True, and that man is already hard to work for at times. But you being there would make things interesting. We could have a betting pool! Which happens first: you getting kicked out or him having a heart attack?"

"Well, hell. I'll join just for that." You lifted your head to look at him and he gently leaned down to kiss you. Before you could really enjoy the moment, you heard the door and immediately snapped apart. 

"Well there's the Mother of Dragons." Rosa took the spot right next to you and then switched which language she spoke in. "Did I interrupt something?"

You glared at her smirk and responded in kind. "You know damn well what you did. Though I guess it was for the best as we are sitting out in the open."

Everett looked back and forth between you. "I'm....I'm sorry, but what language is that?"

"Dothraki." All three of you turned your heads to see Coulson coming out from the compound. "I've never met anyone that can speak it before, I only recognized it from watching the show. Can you teach me?"

Internally, you breathed a sigh of relief that he hadn't heard what had just happened. You knew you were going to have to pick one of these guys, but you didn't need it to be messier than it already was. "Uh, yeah. I can show you the apps and programs we used to learn and you can practice with Rosa or I."

From inside, Tony yelled for you. "Khaleesi! What's going on with the plants?"

"Now he's calling you Khaleesi?" Rosa raised an eyebrow.

"Guess so. I better go fill him in." You stood up and walked to the door, barely catching Coulson's shade at Tony.

"Can we start calling him Jorah Mormont?" Rosa and Everett snickered at this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hopefully I have redeemed Coulson! I didn't realize how I wrote that other chapter might have been interpreted. I loved his character in the movies and never wanted him to come across as a dick. Sorry!


	11. Let's Do The Time Warp Again!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Avengers' Compound hosts their Halloween Party!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> https://ae01.alicdn.com/kf/HTB1DHS1JQyWBuNjy0Fpq6yssXXa7/Game-of-Thrones-Season-6-Cosplay-Daenerys-Targaryen-Costume-Dany-Indigenous-Outfit-Halloween-Cosplay-Costumes.jpg_640x640.jpg
> 
> Ok, I'm going to describe the outfit as best as I can, but for anyone who hasn't seen Game of Thrones I've included a link to what the outfit looks like. As well as the hair style.
> 
> This chapter will be long #sorrynotsorry

The week flew by really quickly, but time flies when you're having fun. It didn't take Rhodey, Sam, and Tony long to convince you to teach Vision, Thor, and Wanda how to play your version of tag. Dr Strange refused to play, but that didn't stop his cloak from joining in, much to his irritation. Everett had a laugh at your expense by pretending to hide behind a pillow from a lounge chair. Peter Parker showed you how he could walk along the ceiling and you showed him how you could make the earth roll like waves. Rosa and you taught Nat and Wanda how to make your tacos for the whole compound while Scott entertained you with his ability to shrink on command as Hope tried to lecture him that the suits weren't toys. It was truly like you had a family again.

You tried your best to spend your time equally between all three guys. Coulson and you had Dothraki lessons and the poor guy just could not get the guttural sounds down. It really wasn't an easy language to learn. Everett and you walked along the compound as he talked about what it had been like to live in Europe and the pros and cons of going back. And Tony brought you down to his lab to help build a suit in the off chance you decided to stay. This was not looking to be an easy decision.

Zero had become the unofficial mascot of the compound, having free range of almost any room and trying to get people to feed him under the table. Not wanting an overweight Chihuahua on your hands, you used your mutation to keep him from begging in the kitchen. Then 10 minutes later you were lecturing Pietro and Scott about feeding the dog the wrong types of human food.

The morning of the party, Rosa and you rounded up anyone who had never seen Rocky Horror Picture Show and pulled them into media room for a quick lesson on fun. The ones who had seen it joined you in the mandatory audience participation. By the time the movie was over, the theater was paying more attention to you as you all dissolved into laughter. 

A few hours from the time of the party, Nat, Wanda, Rosa, and you all gathered in Nat's room since it was bigger so you could all get ready together. You made sure to clean up including your hair and began to do your makeup accordingly before putting your costumes on. You made Nat show what you were wearing so you could do your makeup right and you laughed once you saw it because it was truly perfect. It was so eerie how well she knew what to get for you to wear. 

Your face was mostly plain with a light color on your cheeks, nude lips, and a thin brown line on your lids. Rosa and Wanda went to work putting your hair half up and in intricate braids and curling what was left. You dressed in the riding pants, the half skirt that went over them with a gold chain around your waist and riding boots. Your top was brown with cropped shoulders, low cut in the front with a cut out in the back. The final touch was wrapping your hands in leather and thin rope to make it look like you were ready to climb onto the back of a dragon at any time. You were Daenerys Targaryen after she took over the entire Dothraki horde in season 6. Perfect since you, too, had silver hair and were fireproof. 

Rosa was dressed as a Dothraki handmaid and Zero was given fabric dragon wings to wear. Nat went as Poison Ivy and Wanda as Wonder Woman. You spent a few minutes double checking to make sure everything was perfect before you headed out to the main common area. There it was clear Tony had spared no expense to get the room decorated in such a timely manner. Light colors were changed, realistic spider webs were everywhere (part of you wonder if Parker had something to do with that), dark cloths and lace draped over furniture, creepy music was played at a subtle level to give the whole room the perfect vibe.

Tony came over with a big smile on his face and you dropped your jaw at his costume. No way was this his idea, so clearly your evil influences were rubbing off on someone. "Wow, Tony....is that....are you?"

"Jorah Mormont? Yup! Coulson told me he was the Khaleesi's right hand man!" He stood proudly in leather pants and boots and a yellow medieval style shirt. A belt was around his waist that was holding a foam sword.

"Stark, have you ever seen Game of Thrones?" You put your hand over your mouth and was trying not to laugh because in all honesty, you never thought Coulson would have this in him and you were kinda proud.

"No, never really had the time. Why?" He looked down at himself and then at you. Rosa was trying desperately to hold in her giggles.

"Well, because....while Jorah is Dany's right hand man, he's also in love with her. And the permanent king of the friendzone in regards to her."

Nat was dying of laughter at that part. "Ok, _____ you can't date Phil now. You are a horrible influence on him!"

"Ok, in my defense if I ever got together with Coulson, I always assumed I'd be the one doing evil pranks like this! Honestly I'm kinda proud and now want to date him based on this alone." You pressed your lips together to keep from laughing as you could see the wheels in Stark's head start to turn.

"Why that little-"

"Stark, don't! You gotta admit, it's a damn good prank for Coulson to pull off." You grabbed his hand to keep him from running off. "Besides, now you get to be part of a group costume with me, Rosa, and Zero! Jorah's Dany's protector and I would be honored for you to be that for me."

That seemed to mollify him for the time being but you knew he was plotting his revenge. He squeezed your hand and led you farther into the room and over to the bar to fix you all a specialty drink he created just for that night. It was black as night and shimmered and tasted amazing. Looking around the room, you took in the looks of those already gathered.

Dr Strange and Wong opted not to dress up, but honestly their sorcerer's robes kinda worked anyway. Pietro was dressed as the Flash (a little on the nose there), Thor in his Asgardian armor (he admitted to not fully understanding the holiday), and Parker was dressed as a Vine reference (you admitted to being too old to understand, but went along with it). Scott and Hope walked in dressed as a police officer and a prisoner, with Hope as the prisoner. Bruce came in next dressed in one of his lab coats and his curly hair a little messier than normal, claiming to be a ‘mad scientist’.

Coulson came in then and for a moment you almost thought he didn’t dress up. He was wearing his normal black suit, the one he was in when you first met, but now his sunglasses were clearly in his pocket. He looked you up and down and broke into a wide smile while speaking Dothraki. “Khaleesi, blood of my blood”.

“Hey Secret Agent Man. That was pretty good pronunciation of the words! No costume?”

“Oh I’m dressed up alright.” He pulled out a metal tube and it snapped open. “I’m with the Men in Black”

Laughing, you put your hand on his shoulder. “You cheater. By the way, I know I shouldn’t, but I highly approve of the prank you pulled on Stark.”

He just smirked. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Sure, ok.” You smirked back and looked over at Everett as he walked in.

His hair was combed down for once so his bangs were over his forehead and he was in western style clothes and a white cowboy hat. He tipped his hat at you and you had to smile. “Howdy, ma’am. Have you seen a lady named Dolores?”

“Oh my god, you’re William! I love it!” The only show you liked as much as Game of Thrones was Westworld and here Everett was as one of the characters. For a brief moment you wished you had dressed as Dolores.

He bowed at you. “My queen. I hope your dragons are not nearby.”

“Only one.” You pointed down at Zero and he chuckled at the tiny wings.

Everett looked around taking the room in. “Is....is Stark dressed as Jorah Mormont?”

“Yup. Apparently someone -" you looked back at Coulson “-told him he was Khaleesi’s right hand man.”

“Sorry, ma’am. I’m afraid that information is confidential.” Coulson pulled his neuralizer and his sunglasses out. You grabbed the neuralizer out of his hand.

“Nice try, Agent C, but your tactics don’t work on the Mother of Dragons.” You tossed the device over to Everett who tossed it to Rosa. She laughed and ran off with Coulson chasing after her.

The doors opened and a group of strangers walked in, looking like they were from another world. There was only one human that you could see, while the two women were blue and green respectively, the other guy was big with beige skin and red lines all over, a woman with antennae was at his side, and.....is that a walking tree with a raccoon? Stark walked over and shook the main guy's hand.

"Quill, glad you guys could make it. You pretty much know everyone except our possible new member: _____ ______. She's a mutant that's pretty much Mother Nature."

You shook the guy's hand. "Nice to meet you, Quill."

"Same, same! Wow, a mutant. Pretty cool. This is my girl, Gamora," he pointed first at the green woman and then the blue one, "and her sister, Nebula. This is Drax, Mantis, Rocket, and Groot."

"I am Groot." The tree spoke.

"A talking tree? Welp, that's certainly a new one for me and I've seen some weird things. It's nice to meet everyone." You started to shake everyone's hands, but Gamora pulled your hand away when you reached for Mantis.

"You don't want to do that. She can read your emotions when she touches her hands to you, and then will immediately blurt it out to the room."

Mantis waved happily as you blinked at her. "Ah, ok. Yeah, let's not do that. I'm a firm believer on telling people my emotions on my terms."

Rocket sprinted over to Bucky once he and Steve walked in, talking about trying to get Bucky's vibranium arm from him. Quill shouted over to him, "Rocket, leave his arm alone! If he kills you, that's on you!"

You glanced at Everett, "ok, I thought Xavier's school was odd after Wade joined. This beats all."

Everett's eyes were wide as he took in the aliens. "Yeah, this...wow."

Taking his arm, you guided him towards the bar. "Let's get a drink and try to absorb all of this insanity."

Once at the bar, you went around to the other side to fix Everett a drink as he took in the new comers as they talked to Phil. “Coulson doesn’t seem that phased by them.”

You nodded. “Yeah, he mentioned that a thing SHIELD has had to deal with since the 90’s are aliens. Then there was that whole attack on New York. He’s an old hand at the strange and unusual.”

Walking back around, you took the bar stool next to Everett and put your drinks down. “You seem pretty calm about it as well.”

“Well, I had visited Xavier’s school back when he first asked me to join. I’ve seen my fair share of weird as well. Though nothing like a talking tree and a raccoon obsessed with removable body parts. I don’t think anything could prepare someone for that.”

The night went by spectacularly. Most of the people there already knew the visitors from another world, so only Everett, Rosa, and yourself needed a few minutes to adjust. Gamora was easy to talk to, but her sister seemed like a sullen mess who looked like she would rather be tortured than at a party. Quill was a bit of a show off and he and Tony got into stupid competitions all night. Drax and Mantis had a nice innocence about them (Drax mainly because he took everything literally), but you had to constantly remind yourself to stay arm's length away from Mantis.

As time went on, you realized your time was not being divided equally amongst the Three Amigos. Less and less you were around Coulson as he spent talking to either Fury (who was mostly there to make sure we didn’t get too crazy) or with other agents about their schedule would be starting next week. And sadly, you realized it didn’t matter to you. As you had suspected, as great as Phil could be and as nice as that kiss was, you weren’t meant to be beyond friends. You were simply too different in your lives.

So then the dilemma remained: Tony or Everett. Neither were shy about their feelings towards you and both wanted you to be part of the team, though you knew if you told Everett you would go with him to Germany he would be just as happy as if he stayed.

As the night ended, everyone started to drift off to wherever they were staying for the night. Everett and you hugged and shared a quick kiss in the hall since he was in the guest wing and you were technically in the Avengers’ area. You started to walk down the hallway alone, Rosa and Zero had long ago turned in. Suddenly an arm looped through yours.

“Going my way?”

“Hey Stark. Fancy running into you here.” Looking over, you saw a small genuine smile instead of his normal smirk.

“So, honestly. How do you feel about us? About being part of the team? I know some would rather you fight crime overseas...”

“I know, but I can’t see myself doing that without ever visiting Europe at all first. How would I even know if I was doing the right thing? I think.....I think you guys finally wore me down. I think I’ll stay.”

His small smile turned into a huge one, lighting up his whole face. “That’s the best news I’ve heard all night!”

“Good. Now I better get some sleep. I still have one more thing to mull over.” You gently pulled him down and you shared a sweet kiss before you went inside your room.


	12. And Then There Were Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Reader officially moves into the Avenger's Compound with her sister and dog. A hard choice is given a push.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, very surprised this ended up as long as Bringing Worlds Together. And I gave up on any form of antagonist, so I guess this is a romance? Rom-com? Not sure, just different than where I thought I would end up with this one.
> 
> After this I will go back to my series (If You Could Live Forever) and add the book on how Reader meets Logan and then a short story (or long, who knows with me) where Reader was a former lover of Loki's before once again returning to my series. Hopefully that wasn't confusing.

A couple of days after the party, Tony called you down to the lab to show off what he and Bruce had been working on. You excused yourself from my Dothraki lessons with Coulson and started to make your way to the sublevels of the compound. After a few twist and turns, you came to the double glass doors where you could see the two boys on the other side talking excitedly to each other. Very quietly, you opened the door as you walked in so as not to disturb them.

"I'm telling you, Bruce. This is damn near perfect for ____."

"How is it not perfect already? It's your nano-tech and the vibranium you were able to get from Wakanda. I'm sure ____ will love it." Bruce was moving some equations around on a transparent screen.

"I don't know. I feel like we should have made her a helmet to go with it." Tony held what look like a wide bracelet in his hand.

"Why didn't you?" Bruce continued to look at the screen filled with calculations.

"Nat said it would probably be a waste of materials. Any time they do target practice, they never get near her."

"They shoot at _____?!" He looked up at that.

"Yeah, apparently it's her idea. To practice her reflexes."

"No offence, Tony, but I kinda hope she chooses Ross. The way she trains with Nat, Clint, and Steve will likely give you a heart attack."

"Yeah, but it would be worth it if it meant spending time with her." Tony put the bracelet down and looked up to see you staring at him. "Whoa!"

Bruce jumped off his stool at Tony's cry but luckily didn't change shades. "Holy shit, Tony! Warn a guy before you yell! Oh. Hey, _____."

"Hey guys. Didn't mean to scare you, but Stark did call me down here so I thought you knew I was coming." You shifted uncomfortable in place, your hands in your pockets. You hadn't wanted to disturb the guys, but you had no way of knowing Tony was pretty much going to lay his heart out there.

"Oh, uh yeah. I just thought you were busy with Secret Agent Man and your secret decoder language." Tony turned his back to you, trying to hide what had just happened.

"It's called Dothraki and you can learn too, if you want Tony." You glanced over at Bruce who was silently putting some stuff away.

"Listen, I'm gonna go grab lunch and get my heart rate back down. I'll see you in a few, Tony." And with that, there were two.

"I'm sorry, Tony. I didn't mean to eavesdrop, I honestly thought you guys knew I would be here shortly after you called." You slowly walked over to him, hoping he would turn around.

"Well I didn't want to pull you away from one of your many boyfriends."

You rolled your eyes. "I tell you, rumor me has a way more interesting personal life than actual me. Last I checked I didn't have any boyfriends, especially of the government agent kind. And if I do have multiple boy toys, aren't you on that list?"

He looked over his shoulder then, seeing you with your arms crossed and one eyebrow raised. "Am I?"

Smirking, you drape your arms around his shoulders and touched your cheek to his. "Well, not so much a boy toy as a potential boyfriend. And honestly, that's amazing since when I first met you my instinct was to throw you over the side of the Helicarrier....without your suit."

Tony turned around, wrapping his arms around your middle. "What about the agents?"

"Phil and I make better friends. I'm less likely to be a bad influence over him. Plus, I...I feel he and I could do better. On paper it makes sense, but-"

"You can't picture taking him to bed?" He wiggled his eyebrows and you smacked his arm.

"I wasn't going to put it quite like that, but yes. I wasn't sexually attracted to him."

"Does Phil know?"

"Not that part, but yeah. We had a nice awkward talk about being friends only."

"And the other agent?"

"I don't know. I think he wants to leave again, but if he stays I don't know who I would choose." Tony was so dangerously close then, you could feel his breath on your cheek. "So what's this thing you made for me?"

Clearly you weren’t fooling him, the tension just rolled off the two of you in waves. But he played along after giving you a knowing smirk, letting go and walking over to his table. Picking up the bracelet, he gently placed it on your right wrist. "This is your new suit."

"Ok...." you looked down at the bracelet and then back at him. "What's the punchline?"

He laughed, realizing you wouldn't understand how he had built it. Reaching over, he pressed a silver jewel that was in the center on the top. Suddenly nano-tech began to swim up your arm and cover most of your body. Stark had managed to design your gladiator style boots into the nano-tech armor and did his best to streamline your form for when you flew. It was black with silver, blue, red, and green lines dancing all over to represent the four elements.

"Wow, Tony! This is amazing! I love it!" You beamed at him as you tried to look over every inch of the outfit at the same time.

"Really?"

"Of course!" You threw your arms around him to give him a hug and miscalculated your strength. Next thing you knew, you were on the lab floor. "Whoops! Sorry, I hope I didn't hurt you!"

Instead of answering you, he pulled you down for an intense kiss. You rolled so he was on top and his hands began to travel.

"Goddamn nano-tech." He growled, clearly getting thwarted by his own design in an attempt to feel you up.

Unfortunately that broke the mood and you started to giggle. "Ok, ok. As much as this feels good, we can't do this here or now."

"And why not? Goddammit!" He had tried to kiss your neck and was once again stopped by the armor. Now you were laughing a fit to kill.

"Clearly you did too good of a job on the suit, Stark." You rolled out from under him and got up. You held your hand out to help him up, but he shook it off.

"No, I think I need a few minutes. My poor ego and I need some time."

"If you say so." You waited until you were outside the lab before you pressed the jewel again, watching the suit retract. Heading upstairs, you ran into the rest of the team in the kitchen. "Hey guys."

Bruce looked up. "Is it safe to go back?"

"Give him a couple of minutes and then yeah. He's pissed this suit was designed a little too well."

Poor Steve and his innocence. "What do you mean? Don't you want a well protecting suit?"

"It means Stark cock blocked himself." Nat spoke up.

Steve spit out his drink at that while the rest of the table busted out laughing. Everett walked in and over as you scrounged through the fridge in search of food.

"What's so funny?"

"Stark and his miscalculations." You gave a little smirk as you pulled out some left over pizza. "He forgets how well he makes things at times and it can sometimes bite him in the ass."

"A shame I couldn't see that."

"Trust me, you would need bleach for your eyes." Nat mumbled.

Everett looked at you in confusion and you sighed. "Stark made me a suit for when I go out on missions. I had it on and he tried to grope me, but forgot how formidable vibranium is. Needless to say, he came out empty handed and I was laughing at his poor ego."

"Ah." He looked around awkwardly. "Hey....can we talk somewhere?"

"Uh, yeah. I can come back to this." You put the pizza back and followed him out the room and down the hall. You were soon in his guest room where his suit case was on the bed. "I see your time here is ending."

"Yes. That's what I wanted to talk to you about. I've been assigned to return to Germany and I wanted to know if you would go with me." He took your hand and sat down at the end of his bed.

Closing your eyes, you tried to picture yourself in a brand new place. A place you had never seen before, with new cities, new food, and new people. A place you didn't speak a lick of the language. A place you would know no one but Everett and where you would be thousands of miles away from Rosa. As much as you had loved spending time with Everett and may even choose him over Stark, this next step was not for you. 

"I'm sorry, Everett. But I can't. It sounds like an amazing opportunity, but I am ill prepared for such a drastic change in my life. I know joining the Avengers is big as well, but here I have Rosa, I know the land and two of the languages spoken here. I know who does and does not need my help. I would be helpless in Germany for my first few months and lost in a sea of people. I wish you could stay here with me."

He put his forehead against yours. "I wish I could as well. If you ever change your mind, just let me know and you'll be there."

"Thank you, Everett. That means so much to me." You share a quick, but passionate kiss and then you left him to his packing.

That night you sat up in bed, wondering if you had made the right choice in regards to Everett when Rosa walked in. She had left the day after the party to set up the sale of both of your houses as well as give your old truck crew a month's severance as it was now being sent across country for Rosa to work from. 

"Hey, kiddo."

"Hey chica. How was it out there?"

"Good. We should start getting notifications on potential sales and the crew took it really well. I packed up all of your stuff that wasn't furniture and it's on a truck on its way here."

"Thanks, Rosa." You tilted your head back to rest against the wall.

"What's going on? You're awfully pensive tonight."

“Everett asked me to move to Germany.”

“What?! Oh my god that’s amazing! Wait, why are you sad?”

“I told him no. It all sounded great and I really like him, but-”

“It just wasn’t for you?”

You shook your head. “I’m not ready for Europe. Hell, Everett and I aren’t even a couple! What if I move out there and it all falls apart? I can’t move across the world for a man I’ve barely known two months. If we had had more time here, it would be different.”

Rosa sat down next to you and Zero jumped onto your lap to kiss your face. “I know he would have made you happy, but maybe this is a good thing. There is Tony and he has done so much for not only you, but for the both of us. He has my seal of approval.”

“You’re right and I hate that you’re right. It’s been him all along.” You laughed and rested your head on her shoulder. “Gods, who knew I would end up with an egotistical billionaire.”

“A super hero nonetheless.” She kissed the top of your head. “Are you going to tell him?”

“Yeah. Don’t wait up.”


	13. You and I

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Reader finally lays her heart out on the line.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Omg thanks to everyone who read it, to those who gave kudos, and to those who left comments! I love you guys and please feel free to read my other works!

It took you awhile to find where Stark was hiding, but soon you discovered him over at the bar in the common area pouring whiskey into a rocks glass. "Fancy pouring a lady a drink."

He looked up and gave a small smile. "I suppose I could. A farewell drink as it were? And here I thought you said you were staying."

You took the drink from him and sat on a stool. "Am I going somewhere? I figured Fury would make me sign enough papers that I would be pretty much signing my life away before he sent me on a mission."

"It's ok, you don't need to play cute. I know you're going to Germany. Fury told me Everett asked him if he could steal you away." Tony was refusing to meet your eyes and it was frustrating the hell out of you.

"Germany? When did Fury tell you this?"

"Right after you left the lab. You know, when I gave you that awesome suit," he nodded at your wrist, "and you seemed very grateful about it. Guess I misread how grateful."

"Stark, you really should have talked to Fury again tonight. I'm not leaving, certainly not for Germany. Well, maybe one day on a mission. Who knows what kind of assignments you crazy people will give me." You reached out and took his hand, refusing to let go when he tried to pull away. He looked up at your eyes. "Tony, Everett did ask me to go to Germany with him. But I told him no."

"Why? He seems like the right fit for you: level headed, stable job, boring personality."

"Well I can't agree with the last one, but I will say that just because a guy seems ideal on paper doesn't mean it would work in the real world. Isn't that what I said about Coulson? Besides, maybe I need someone who isn't always level headed, who has a crazy job, who is anything but boring. Maybe I need someone who, even though has his head up his ass 90% of the time, does really generous and touching things for his friends and teammates. Someone who challenges me and pulls me out of my box. Someone who understands me when I say sometimes you can love your parents but not like them."

"You deserve better than me. You deserve someone who will make you happy and can spend time with you."

"Maybe you only spend so much time in that lab because you've never met someone who feels you're already worthy of them. Regardless of your money and fame."

You let go of his hand then and stood up to leave, realizing you may not be getting through to him. Before you could walk more than two steps, Tony was in front of you. "Why me? You're not the kind to go for money or fame and I'm an emotional wreck."

"So am I. So why me? Some think mutants are the next level in evolution and meanwhile I grew up thinking I was a freak. You deserve someone normal, who won't add to your stress."

He took your face in his hands, his warm brown eyes staring into yours. "You're not a freak, you are an amazing product of nature. Hell, you are nature! I tried someone 'normal' and it blew up in my face because they couldn't handle this life style. Unlike you. You're kind, funny, smart, persistent, and a natural leader which will be great when Capsicle finally retires."

Laughing, you touched your forehead to his. "I'm not duct tape nor a band-aid, Stark. If we give this a try you have to keep working on your PTSD and not rely solely on me to give your emotions a boost."

"I promise I will continue to work on me so I can be even more perfect than I already am." Before you could complain, he pressed his lips to yours. Your hands went around his neck and found their way into his dark brown hair, pulling him closer.

You fumbled around the compound, refusing to let the other go until you managed to find your way to his bedroom. You remember how you once said you would never allow yourself to fall into this so quickly with him, because of who Stark was. But now he was someone different and you weren’t worried you would end up a notch on that bedpost. 

The next morning you reached over for Tony only to be confronted by an empty bed. Sitting up, you couldn't see him anywhere in the room and for a brief moment you felt you had been fooled and he really was still stuck in his old ways. Before it could truly sink in and you could get angry at the whole situation, Tony came walking in with a tray full of food.

"Ah damn, I was hoping to be back before you woke up." He walked over with the tray as you pulled the nearest shirt over your head. His eyes roamed over you appreciatively as he set the food on the bed. "I have to say, my shirt looks good on you."

You glanced down to see you had put on his Black Sabbath shirt he had been wearing last night. "Well good, cause I don't plan to change just yet. You seriously brought me breakfast in bed?"

"Well, us. I hadn't had a chance to eat while I made all of this." You looked at him. "Ok, while Rosa made all this. She fed Zero by the way."

Chuckling, you grabbed a slice of bacon off the tray and opened up the red bull can. "Don't worry, Stark. You'll learn how to cook yet."

You enjoyed a nice quiet breakfast before hitting the shower together. You got dressed in your jeans from last night, but kept Tony's shirt. "You're seriously going to wear that today?"

"Yeah, you said I looked cute in it and it's not dirty. We pretty much got rid of it before that could happen." You wiggled your eyebrows as you walked out of his room. "I gotta go find Fury and get started on that mountain of paperwork. Maybe we can finally go on that date tonight."

"We are going about this all backwards." He headed towards the elevator for the lab.

"Yup, but it's what works for us." You gave him a quick kiss and went off to find your fearless leader. 

Fury was in a meeting with Maria and Coulson when you finally found him in a conference room towards the back of the compound. You picked up a copy of the Accords that was sitting around and began, once again, to try to read the mind numbing wordy document. Suddenly, Fury shouted causing you to toss the packet into the air.

"Good lord man, I'm right here! No need to shout at the top of your lungs." You strolled into the room and took a seat on Fury's left, across from Maria and Coulson. Maria took one look at your shirt and raised an eyebrow while Coulson looked at it in confusion. "So I think I was finally able to read this monstrosity. But please don't quiz me on anything as my brain is still healing from that hell."

Fury nodded at your shirt. "I didn't know Stark opened his own clothing line....or willingly let people borrow his clothes."

"Really? That's why you pulled me in here? Wardrobe? Aren't I supposed to be signing papers until my hand cramps up?" You ignored the look of understanding that was starting to dawn on Coulson's face and focused your attention on Fury. You should have known better than to wear one of Stark's favorite shirts right away.

"I'm not here to judge, Ms. ____. If anything maybe it'll make Stark behave more if you have some control over him."

"Fury, I can control the oceans, the winds, and the weather. But Stark? No force from nature could control that insanity. He's his own self contained tornado."

He nodded, no doubt knowing from firsthand experience how correct you were in that assessment, and began to hand you several papers to begin to read and sign. By the time you were done, it truly felt like your fingers were about to fall off. You got up and began to head back to the kitchen hoping to find food for a late lunch. Coulson was right at your heels.

"So I see you finally decided." You could hear the hurt in his voice despite his efforts.

"Well, rather yes and no. Everett asked first, but I couldn't see myself moving to Germany."

He nodded as you walked. "I've asked to be reassigned."

"What? To where?"

"DC. Just for a few months to get settled with my team again. I was leading my own SHIELD team when Fury asked me to help recruit you. Plus, I think the space will help me be able to be your friend again."

"I hope so. I've missed having you as a friend." You walked into the kitchen where Tony, Steve, Rhodey, and Sam were all gathered. Sam smiled and nodded his approval at your shirt as you began to make a sandwich. "Not a word, Wilson."

"What? All I was going to say is you have great taste in T-shirts." 

Steve looked over, confusion crossing his face. "Hey Tony, don't you have a shirt like that?"

You tried not to laugh as Tony answered him. "I did, but lost it due to an act of nature."

Rhodey and Sam began to chuckle. "I don't get it."

"Oh Steve, your innocence is just adorable at times." You took a bite and sat down next to Tony at the table.

"Steve, it means that  _yer jalan atthirari anni_ has taken my shirt for her own use today."

You froze in place and saw Coulson's eyes grow wide. "Um...Tony. Can you repeat what you just said?"

He took your hand and looked you straight in the eyes. "You are  _yer jalan atthirari anni._ "

" _Shekh ma shieraki anni._ " You managed to whisper back. "When did you-"

"Shortly after meeting you. We research every possible candidate and when I learned you liked Game of Thrones I decided to learn the language in hopes of driving you nuts."

"So you never took time to watch the show but you took time to learn a language created for said show. I will never fully understand you."

"But now we can watch it together and you can answer all my annoying questions!"

"Oh joy!" You cried with fake sarcasm.

"Wait, what just happened? Some of us are missing information." Rhodey looked back and forth between Tony, you, and Coulson's shocked face.

"Apparently Tony was learning Dothraki before I even considered officially joining the team just on the off chance he could use it to annoy me. I'm sure he will still do that, but just now..." you looked down and blushed.

Tony finished your sentence. "I called her 'moon of my life' and she called me 'my sun and stars'. I only knew of these phrases because when I was looking up ways to learn the language, they kept popping up as examples."

"You two are oddly perfect for each other." Rhodey rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, I guess so. I am his and he is mine and if we die, we die. But first, we'll live." You leaned over and gave Tony a kiss.


End file.
